Love Poems & A Good Cry

by Nikki Giovanni

The poetry of Nikki Giovanni has spurred movements, turned hearts and informed generations. She’s been hailed as a firebrand, a radical, a courageous activist who has spoken out on the sensitive issues that touch our national consciousness, including race and gender, social justice, protest, violence in the home and in the streets, and why black lives matter.

One of America’s most celebrated poets looks inward in this powerful collection, a rumination on her life and the people who have shaped her.

As energetic and relevant as ever, Nikki now offers us an intimate, affecting, and illuminating look at her personal history and the mysteries of her own heart. In A Good Cry, she takes us into her confidence, describing the joy and peril of aging and recalling the violence that permeated her parents’ marriage and her early life. She pays homage to the people who have given her life meaning and her grandparents, who took her in and saved her life; the poets and thinkers who have influenced her; and the students who have surrounded her. Nikki also celebrates her good friend, Maya Angelou, and the many years of friendship, poetry, and kitchen-table laughter they shared before Angelou’s death in 2014.

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook, Romance, Love

Unknown Binding

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

[Hannah (hngisreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Nikki Giovanni & the audiobook is sublime & funny & cute & yes, sad in spots. I love Giovanni’s mind & how she interacts with the world. I want to give her a hug.

[Ally Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to Nikki Giovanni herself read this on audiobook and it was the best audiobook narration I’ve ever heard. The poems were brilliant, but even more brilliant were the ad libbed tangents that Giovanni goes on between poems about things like outer space.

[Nene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this read. For some reason, It flowed and I resonated with it. Rest in paradise Nikki Giovanni.

[hawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

💖 love poems 💖
&
💖 a good cry 💖

two collections in one volume.

the collection(s) overall, and the poems, were good, especially as read by their author 🙂 and, towards the end of the book, became story telling in places... closing with a very conversational interview piece 😊😍

the charting of life and lives, moments and movements, the personal and political.


💖😅🧡🥰💔💛


I didn't stop to make many notes. many poems, and turns of phrase and idea made me smile 😁
but especially:

Cancer (not necessarily a love poem) 🙂

the poem about/for Tupac ♥


🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟


accessed as a library audiobook, read by the author 😊

[Jennifer Sconyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible. Hearing her voice and listening to the stories behind the poems did not disappoint. A must listen/read.

[Nyambura]

Not a poetry girlie but I enjoyed this so so much. Nikki Giovanni is such a wonderful reader :)

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible mind and spirit we've lost! It was bittersweet to listen to these words by Nikki Giovanni in her own voice the week after her passing. These poems and musings are, for the most part, joyful---celebrations of black men and women, simple reflections on a simple life, revelations of the pleasures of love. Then there are odes to folks lost (the good cry part), and some thoughts on politics and society and even arguments for why black poets should go to space!
Warm, wonderful, intimate.
This is a very different vibe from her earlier, revolutionary poetry, rather reflections of an older, more settled poet. A real gift.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book which Nikki Giovanni read herself. She is wise and funny, insightful and frank. Along with her poetry, there was commentary which made the audiobook feel like sitting at the table with a great poet, hearing her perspective.

[Cel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it
I like her voice for some reason I think because she is a good speaker and story teller with her poems she draws you in I guess idk

[Justin Drummond · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know why I’ve waited so long to read Nikki Giovanni’s poetry. These collections, read by the author with her commentary on some pieces, is an excellent look at her work from the mid-1990s and more recently. It’s a beautiful collection masterfully read with palpable emotion and love.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of poems, reflections and informal comments encompassing many of Nikki Giovanni's work & themes. Love Poems and A Good Cry is also a bit of a lion in winter. The author is reflecting, down-to-earth and not beholden to anyone. She's upbeat, positive, optimistic, engaged, occasionally enraged (mostly about that fool in the White House in 2017), singing the praise of a good piece of well-cooked steak & lamb, and a fine glass of champagne (especially the good champagne Jay-Z sent Doc, aka Maya Angelou).

In its essence, Love Poems and A Good Cry hits me like viewing the glorious 1992 show of Matisse in New York. Both are artists who lived long enough to return to primary colors, to savor their directness and simple boldness. Are there moments of off-the-cuff informality? Sure. Are there moments when Nikki Giovanni's voice breaks with honest, heartfelt emotion? Absolutely. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

I listened to Ms. Giovanni read her own collection of poems (and occasional prose) as an audiobook, and it is a treat. There may not be much new ground broken and tilled but she is a wise, experienced farmer/writer nurturing her established themes she knows well.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listening to this audio book is like hearing your no-nonsense yet encouraging grandmother tell you what's what. Giovanni embraces love in all its forms, talks about politics and oppression with the wisdom of an elder, and shares intimate details of her life and friendships. I particularly enjoyed hearing her remembrances of Maya Angelou and what it was like to have breakfast in her grand home. Giovanni is matter-of-fact about life's challenges and optimistic about the human potential for love and progress. These are accessible poems with heart, great for fans of Langston Hughes or Billy Collins.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally now I need to read everything Nikki Giovanni has ever written. Her poetry is funny, emotional and passionate. I loved the little rants or asides in between some of the poems on her thoughts regarding space or the African-American History Museum in DC and the 2016 election. Also, her poems about and for Maya Angelou... beautiful.

[Blythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. Is. Everything. Exactly what you hope for when you pick up a book of poetry. A thing of beauty and joy. Transformational.

[Tamyka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved revisiting this book of poetry. There’s a reason Nikki Giovanni is a gift to poetry and literature and this book is another example of her genius!

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author reads these poems in the audiobook and even offers some context in between. These are beautiful, I highly recommend this book.

[Che · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nikki is spirited writer and thinker. I loved climbing into her mind in this book. I will revisit it often.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook with Giovanni reading is excellent. I could listen to her over and over again!

[♡ rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

 ▸ read on storytel
  ▸ audiobook
          ➥ ❪ 𝟬𝟵/𝟬𝟭/𝟮𝟰 ─ 𝟱★ ❫

i love her omg

[Sierra McKissick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I love you because I am afraid of the dark and can't sleep in the light....because you, with all your magic powers, were determined that I should love you. Because there was nothing for you but that I would love you. I love you because you made me want to love you more than I love my privacy, my freedom, my commitments, and my responsibilities. I love you because I changed my life to love you." - Nikki Giovanni, "Love Is"

This lovely collection of love poems from "That Day" and "Seduction" to "My House" (some of my favorites) pushes you forward to consider ways you can love others more deeply. Each poem is a public declaration that feels like a prayer of gratitude for the opportunity and the experience. I especially enjoyed "The Tassel's Worth the Hassle" section, which highlights the differences between education and school. So much of this collection echoes the urgency of teaching kids to imagine other worlds--like going to space--and to recite the wisdom from voices like Nikki Giovanni that might not be with us much longer. This prompted a good cry and reminder that love is simple and best when lived out loud. #DaughterEverOnTheAltar #FiskForever

[Donna Collier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Nikki Giovanni's perspective and outlook on life and especially humans. I absolutely loved the parts about space! I have had this collection of poetry on my TBR since A What Should I Read Next episode in January 2022. But when I read Kwame Alexander's memoir When Fathers Cry At Night, he talked a lot about Nikki Giovanni and convinced me that now was the time to read this. Only I didn't READ it, I listened. Which I'm not sure is the right way to experience poetry. It all went by so fast! But I loved the parts where Nikki talked about why she wrote a poem or chose to discuss a specific subject. Those parts didn't feel read, so I am not sure if they are in the physical copy of the book. I would have really missed those sections. But not to worry - I, of course, put the book on hold at the library. So I will know soon if audio or physical copy (or both!) is my best bet with poetry.

[Fiona Hellerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

nikki giovanni has one of the most beautiful poetic voices in the history of literature. so refreshingly celebratory of the purest things in life: love, liberation, nostalgia. it was bittersweet to listen to her narrate her own work while listening to this as an audiobook— it brought her back to life in a way. i’m always fascinated by the ways in which writers read their own poetry, the inflections they take and the emphases they place at the points where only they know wrote them. i highly recommend this as an audiobook. may her memory forever be a blessing, a reminder to appreciate everything with an open heart, and a call to action in pursuit of justice.

[Adam Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listening to the audiobook was a real treat. Getting to hear the author read her work added another layer of emotion and poignancy. There were multiple occasions at the climax of a poem her voice would break and this authenticity just adds to the poems power and significance. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite poets around and I look forward to delving deeper into her extensive library.


Also a fun bonus to hear she has Cincinnati roots, having spent part of her childhood here with her grandparents. I had no idea!

[Abbi McMahon · Rating 2 out of 5]

my rating is based off the audiobooks and I seem to be in the minority but I disliked the tangents personally. I like to listen to poetry books by the poet bc its said in the way they imagined it'd be when they wrote it and I did enjoy her poetry. But a 3 hour book took me a whole day to finish bc the tangents kept losing me and causing me to get distracted doing other things. I couldn't tell sometimes if it was a poem or a tangent sometimes too.

I'd definitely try again with just the physical book or other poetry books by her. I don't think id listen to another audiobook narrated by her

[Elke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually listened to this in audiobook form with Nikki doing the narration. This is a must listen to. It’s like sitting on the floor listening to an oral history teller. Her poems run the full gambit of feels. Her narrative of her own personal stories connected to Fisk University, and her own dreams and challenges for us as collective humanity left me hungry for more time with this beautiful soul. Grateful to have found her works, her heart and wisdom in the written word.

[Luke Flint · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved everything about this book. So digestible and easy to read/listen to. All her poems, while they weren't all really 'poems', but more so musings. She has a great way of adding side notes, sub footers, talking points, etc. that just make this such an enjoyable book. There's a lot of game being given and I will find myself returning to this. Her reading her writings was the chef's kiss for me. I wish I had gotten to meet her, but I guess I'll have to wait for my trip to Mars.

[KYLE MILLER · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of poems by the wonderful Nikki Giovanni celebrate the individuals who helped shape her life... in both happier and sadder moments. She recalls the violence within her family, her health challenges, and her friends -- especially Maya Angelou who enjoyed Chardonnay for breakfast -- most of whom have died. Clever, moving, funny, these poems are a pleasure.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the author read this book. The poems are usually not very long, joyful and rich and delicious, human, passionate for life and existence. Sometimes the audio book includes her speaking about the background of a poem, her own history and her opinions about goings on in the world. I highly recommend this book for lifting the heart and enriching your day.

[Eugenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I say, you can’t be a good Nikki Giovanni book. Her book read like a conversation with an old aunt that has seen a lot of things and she has her own opinions AND SHE WILL NOT BE SWAYED BY others. Good read

[LeMing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the poems and the authors audio commentary. I think however, I wanted more time to pause between poems and digest than an audiobook or a library loan allows. Merry circle back to read again one day when I can sit with a physical book to find my favorites.