The Selected Poems, 1968-1995

by Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Fowler (Illustrator)

When Nikki Giovanni's poems first emerged from the Black Rights Movement in the late 1960s, she immediately took a place among the most celebrated and controversial poets of the era. Finally, here is the first compilation of Nikki Giovanni's poetry. It is the testimony of a life's work from one of the commanding voices to grace America's political and poetic landscape at the end of the twentieth century.

From the revolutionary "The Great Pax Whitie" and "Poem for Aretha" to the sublime "Ego Tripping" and the tender "My House," these 150 mind-speaking, truth-telling poems are at once powerful yet sensual, angry yet affirming. Arranged chronologically, they reflect the changes Giovanni has endured as a Black woman, lover, mother, teacher, and poet. Here is the evocation of a nation's past and present — intensely personal and fiercely political — from one of our most compassionate, outspoken observers.

Genres: Poetry, African American, Race, Nonfiction, Adult, Anti Racist, Classics

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 11, 1996

About the author

Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she was named as one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends". Giovanni was a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement of the period, her early work provides a strong, militant African-American perspective, leading one writer to dub her the "Poet of the Black Revolution". During the 1970s, she began writing children's literature, and co-founded a publishing company, NikTom Ltd, to provide an outlet for other African-American women writers. Over subsequent decades, her works discussed social issues, human relationships, and hip hop. Poems such as "Knoxville, Tennessee" and "Nikki-Rosa" have been frequently re-published in anthologies and other collections.
Giovanni received numerous awards and holds 27 honorary degrees from various colleges and universities. She was also given the key to over two dozen cities. Giovanni was honored with the NAACP Image Award seven times. One of her more unique honors was having a South America bat species, Micronycteris giovanniae, named after her in 2007.
Giovanni was proud of her Appalachian roots and worked to change the way the world views Appalachians and Affrilachians.
Giovanni taught at Queens College, Rutgers, and Ohio State, and was a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech until September 1, 2022. After the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, she delivered a chant-poem at a memorial for the shooting victims.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first poetry volume I've read by Nikki Giovanni, and I've been really impressed with her writing. This book has a nice mix of different types of poems -- great love poems, nostalgic and powerful memories from the first days of the civil rights movement, notes about growing older (she's 65 this year) as a tough feminist and giving the right tools to the next generations, and quite a bit more.

Giovanni's plainness of language can be very beautiful, and I appreciate that some poems build a single simple idea or observation. Its rare that the writing is heavy-handed and the subject matter is very human, while also being somewhat surreal and abstract in places. There are certain poem-types in this book that I'm not crazy about (some of the more detailed pieces about, say, Rap Brown of the black panthers which maybe I don't have enough life or context to appreciate) and Giovanni does repeat herself at times, but I find her resolution and stubbornness at building a better world really engaging. One of my favorite poetry books.

[Edit]: I'm going to have to downgrade this to three stars. I was reading some of the later parts of this book recently. Nikki's most recent poems are very peculiarly formatted. They are basically paragraph formats with a TON of ellipses replacing line breaks (I assume). It's godawful. Still, first half of this book is very well done.

[Mo the Lawyer✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal
so surreal
I cannot be comprehended except by my permission...
~An excerpt from "Ego Tripping," Nikki Giovanni

This poetry compilation penned by the renowned and influential Nikki Giovanni has a permanent home on my primary bookshelf. It includes, in chronological order, Giovanni's works ranging from her first book published during the Black Rights Movement in the 60s to her more current work during the 90s.

Some of Giovanni's earliest work on the subject of race relations was self-published and quite controversial given the poet's raw, unfiltered style. She wrote passionately and often angrily about the utter heartache and despair she felt concerning the assassinations of MLK, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers.

Since the time period covered in this collection, Giovanni has published other compilations and I have enjoyed them all. However, my personal favorite is in this collection - the soulful, "jive-talkin'," finger-snappin', neck-rolling, sassy AF poem "Ego Tripping." I've read that poem so many times that I would bet that I could recite most, if not all, of the stanzas from memory (as I often did for fun in high school).

If you love passionate poetry, I highly recommend you pick up this book.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry compilation on Nikki Giovanni's work is wonderful. You must read to the end. She has many poems to important figures both in her life and in politics. She writes about poets. She writes about poetry in such a relatable way (saying that as a poet myself). Her love poems are so raw and realistic. I very much enjoyed this compilation.

[Sincerely Bluejay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always admired Giovanni, for her style, her voice and her courage. This collection of poems brings it all to the table. There's so much honesty, depth, and even a blunt sort of style that makes it feel like she's in the room reading each piece to me.

[Rasheed Newson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nikki Giovanni has the strongest and most honest poetic voice, in my opinion. For decades, she has been the wise and sharp observer of America, race relations, and human nature. This book is an excellent collection of her work during the first half of her career.

[Tish · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find a smart poem for any emotion...ego trippin is in this one...my fav poem

[Genek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have read her first poems at least 40 years ago. Loved them then and do love them now.

[Mattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great...I mean its Nikki Giovanni what did you expect?

[Briana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nikki Giovanni is a fabulous poet. I found that when I come across her poems randomly or part of other anthologies, I like what she has to say. These poems are relatable, and the Black Power Movement was one that I align with most of the time, but I preferred her more intimate poems about love, her battle with cancer, nature, and other things that felt more interior and true to who she was as a person. I liked the poems about her personal life and stories from her childhood, but those are unfortunately few and far between. I see why she was called "controversial" for her time. Many of these poems were heavy-handed and are probably better received in the spoken form. However, I read this, so it slightly changes the context. I'm also at a point where poetry and literature can be "important," but if I don't enjoy reading them, then that's it.

[Ty Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read of any of Ms. Giovanni's literary works. I must say, it hit home. From years past to today, her poems speak volumes to the heart and mind on SO many levels. My favorites: Revolutionary Dreams, The World is Not a Pleasant Place to Be, and A Certain Peace ....to name a few. The one I cherish most, is: The Wonder Woman! Short but reminiscent, encouraging..never stop dreaming.

[Maynalg · Rating 5 out of 5]

this has some of my most favorite poems in it. Helped me build a backbone, a heart, and a voice. This is my desert island book.

[Sam Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with Sappho the only poetry I carry with me wherever I go.

[Andaye Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of Giovanni's most poignant poems....

[Michaela Y-M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and vulnerable, Giovanni traverses a number of topics. Worth taking your time with, you can only read a poem for the first time once. I have my copy bookmarked and starred.

[Iliana Haverlock · Rating 3 out of 5]

i fear i didn’t love this but i do think it’s solely because i am just unfortunately not a modern poetry person. however there were a few really nice ones in here re: revolution & love that stuck with me, and giovanni is of course a beautiful writer and an incredibly strong voice especially for her time

[Laura Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was requested because it was selected by the Poetry Foundation's February 2025 book club. And it did not disappoint.
From the foreword: ...hear Nikki Giovanni sew her poetry into a musical quilt...
She seemed to be able to refresh herself at will.

Her prose poems filled with ellipses added pause or seemed to indicate that something was left out and left it to the reader to fill in the blanks

We did a deep reading on two poems: Charting the Night Winds and Mothers

[Mal Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly these were amazing pens and I recommend them to anyone. She writes about feelings, history, art, and small moments. this book is a journey, not only through the past but through the present. it goes into your soul and leaves essence for anyone willing to breathe it in.

[Ollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love love. Nikki Giovanni's poems are a marvel of language and feeling. She captures big and small moments, turns them inside out, and reveals the world in entirely new ways. Intense, captivating and unforgettable.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like poetry but to me poetry is the most subjective form of writing that there is. It has to strike you just right, to resonate with you at just the right frequency, to be of value to you. What some love, you could literally hate. It all depends on if you can relate in some way with it.

This collection of poems by Nikki Giovanni is as much of a mixed bag as could possibly be in a collection of poems. Some of the poems were really wonderful, some were atrocious, and even still there was more than a few that I was simply indifferent towards. Some were full of insight and beautiful prose, while others just simply never jelled. There was about 20-30 pages near the end of poems written in a paragraph form with “….” between words or phrases, and I couldn’t say there was a single poem written in that form that I appreciated. It just was an odd way to write a poem to me.

Most of the poems that I was indifferent towards were the poems I couldn’t relate to. I didn’t necessarily think they were bad poems but I was very clearly not the target audience and I had zero ability to frame a reference or context. This isn’t a negative, in fact it very well may be a positive. However, it does point to my previous point that poetry is the most subjective form of writing.

Overall there were enough good poems to think fondly of the book but there wasn’t enough good poems to be awe struck by the book. There are enough poems that I couldn’t relate to, that if someone else could relate to them, then I could see that person being awe struck by the book. It really is simply a mixed bag. If you like poetry there is bound to be more than a few poems in the book that you enjoy.

[Aloysiusi Lionel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This hardbound beauty reminded me of Christina Aguilera's hit "Fall In Line", as both capture heightened expressions of woman empowerment, telling the whole world that women, from society's imposed image of domesticity and vulnerability, are "more than flesh and bone" and "not made to fall in line". In the abundance of sing-songs and lullabies which I do not personally prefer on a poetry collection, there is the implicit pulchritude, from a poet's sensitivity to enjambments, poetic tensions and organic unity as well as her successful stint of breaking free, liberated from the rigidity of the form. The distortion, and most of the time omission, of punctuation marks and of the significance of capitalization standards rendered the power and passion Giovanni endeavored to possess and demonstrate. Her affinity with civil rights movement leaders and jazz music icons are evident in this collection, a testimony that to uplift and denounce mainstream patronage, poetry is always on the rescue.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I share with the painters the desire / To put a three-dimensional picture / On a one-dimensional surface” (“Poetry,” p. 181). Multidimensional Nikki, rapping about life on planet Earth and dreaming of going to Mars and beyond, offers nothing fancy here, just plainspoken wisdom from a life well lived. “That Day” is a masterpiece.

“when i can’t express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express
and none of it is equal
i know
but that’s why mankind
alone among the mammals
learns to cry”
—“Choices,” p. 215


Favorite Poems:
“Poem (No Name No. 3)”
“Seduction”
“Nikki-Rosa”
“Knoxville, Tennessee”
“Woman Poem”
“Balances”
“Kidnap Poem”
“How Do You Write a Poem?”
“Conversation”
“Atrocities
“The Life I Led”
“The Life I Feel”
“A Very Simple Wish”
“Poetry”
“Introspection”
“Forced Retirement”
“The New Yorkers”
“Age”
“Choices”
“Make Up”
“You Are There”
“A Poem of Friendship”
“Lorraine Hansberry: An Emotional View”
“Hands: For Mother’s Day”

[Tye-Teona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book because it felt like this book was made for me. It had its on little section for life, family and friends. I'm having a lot of family issues and reading this book made me release you only have one family and that they do sometimes do things you don't think they would do but they do. The poems made me understand that people make mistakes and your family is your family and you can't replace them. It gave me thought.Thought that you have to forgive someone even if they hurt you bad and that acting rude and unkind to the people you love won't get you far.

[Jodi Geever · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard of Nikki Giovanni from a suggested reading list on Good Reads and I am so glad I did. Given the vintage of this poetry (most recent included is from the late nineties) it's amazing and humbling and sad how long people have faced the issues raised in Nikki's poetry. A powerful read.

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

the first couple books we have selections from as well as several of the selections from the final book here did not really do it for me, but those between them really warmed me. i like how nikki sees what's around her, many of these got dog eared

[Lady Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nikki Giovanni was not only my favorite poet, but also an incredible human being. I wish I had gotten to meet her when she was alive. I don't really like poetry, but I love her poetry. I love the grit and determination it presents.

[tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

"i wanted to be in love
when winter came
like a groundhog i would burrow
under the patchwork pieces
of your love
but the threads are slender
and they are being stretched"

[Mike Hammer · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice collection
good flow and strong themes and words, good storytelling
it probably only needed to be half as long tho

[Suzi!!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[John Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readable, challenging poems from the perspective of a Black American woman, featuring a deep selection from her volumes.

[kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

uhhhhh. so. she’s rly antisemitic. just in case i was going insane, i took the time to read a 50 page chapter of a dissertation on the subject. my gut reading was right ! yikes !