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Bicycles: Love Poems – A Legendary Voice on Black Lives, Social Justice, and Loss
In her legendary career, artist and activist Nikki Giovanni has established herself as a writer who can entertain and challenge, and a voice for social justice who can inform and inspire in times of national crisis. Controversial, revolutionary, ethereal, or illuminating, her poems about race, Black lives, violence, gender, and family move readers of all ages and backgrounds.
With BICYCLES, she’s collected poems that serve as a companion to her 1997 LOVE POEMS. An instant classic, that book--romantic, bold, and erotic--expressed notions of love in ways that were delightfully unexpected. In the years that followed, Giovanni experienced losses both public and private. A mother’s passing, a sister’s, too. A massacre on the campus at which she teaches. And just when it seemed life was spinning out of control, Giovanni rediscovered love--what she calls the antidote. Here romantic love--and all its manifestations, the physical touch, the emotional pull, the hungry heart--is distilled as never before by one of our most talented poets. In a time of national crisis or personal crisis, this is a collection that will open minds and change hearts as only the best art can.
With BICYCLES, she’s collected poems that serve as a companion to her 1997 LOVE POEMS. An instant classic, that book--romantic, bold, and erotic--expressed notions of love in ways that were delightfully unexpected. In the years that followed, Giovanni experienced losses both public and private. A mother’s passing, a sister’s, too. A massacre on the campus at which she teaches. And just when it seemed life was spinning out of control, Giovanni rediscovered love--what she calls the antidote. Here romantic love--and all its manifestations, the physical touch, the emotional pull, the hungry heart--is distilled as never before by one of our most talented poets. In a time of national crisis or personal crisis, this is a collection that will open minds and change hearts as only the best art can.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
53 people are currently reading
846 people want to read
About the author
Nikki Giovanni
161 books1,412 followersYolande 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.
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.
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July 11, 2017
If we cut a tree down, we see how the environment leaves its mark on each ring of the trunk. We can see how drought and disease stresses a tree. We don’t see this until we cut down the tree to look at the trunk. People carry their stories similarly. Only, we have no way to cut down a person and peer into their soul. Each person carries a protective bark. If we could examine people this way, my tree would tell you this was a year of extreme weathering.
During this time, I’m drawn to very concise writing. Writing that gets straight to the heart of the human condition. Writing that knocks you down.
Nikki Giovanni had such a year when she wrote Bicycles: Love Poems. I was confused when I picked this book up, because these aren’t love sonnets. These aren’t declarations of romantic love. They aren’t even explorations into platonic friendships. But then I realized, they are the poems written when you must find your way forward and the only way forward is to reaffirm a love for life. They are poems that say life is beautiful even after extreme weathering.
During this time, I’m drawn to very concise writing. Writing that gets straight to the heart of the human condition. Writing that knocks you down.
Nikki Giovanni had such a year when she wrote Bicycles: Love Poems. I was confused when I picked this book up, because these aren’t love sonnets. These aren’t declarations of romantic love. They aren’t even explorations into platonic friendships. But then I realized, they are the poems written when you must find your way forward and the only way forward is to reaffirm a love for life. They are poems that say life is beautiful even after extreme weathering.
July 20, 2019
I am the cricket
In the grass
I talk by rubbing
My wings against
My legs
I am calling calling calling
For a friend
I am the spider
Capturing shadows
Weaving this web
To let the light
Dance
I am the harvest moon
That allows you
To read
A midnight
Poem
I am the autumn wind
Whooshing cold
Bringing you greetings
From blankets and fireplaces
I am that tiny ball of cotton
From your grandmother's quilt
Which tickles
Your nose
I am the pepper
In your soup
The garlic
In your sauce
The taste in your mouth
When you are tired
I am a match
Light me
You need to change
How you look
At things
In the grass
I talk by rubbing
My wings against
My legs
I am calling calling calling
For a friend
I am the spider
Capturing shadows
Weaving this web
To let the light
Dance
I am the harvest moon
That allows you
To read
A midnight
Poem
I am the autumn wind
Whooshing cold
Bringing you greetings
From blankets and fireplaces
I am that tiny ball of cotton
From your grandmother's quilt
Which tickles
Your nose
I am the pepper
In your soup
The garlic
In your sauce
The taste in your mouth
When you are tired
I am a match
Light me
You need to change
How you look
At things
August 4, 2017
هشدار: یک ستاره تنها به علت ترجمه است نه اصل کتاب
خلاصه بگم، ترجمه افتضاحه و اصل و متن انقدر تفاوت دارن - و ترجمه ی فارسی انقد متن اش خرتوخره - که اصلا و مطلقا نباید سراغ ترجمه رفت. اما خود اشعار انگلیسی صمیمی و جالب اند و من تقریبا همه ی کتاب اصلی رو خوندم جز چند شعری که در ترجمه نیامده، آنها را هم وقت کنم می خوانم
پس به اصل کتاب حتما نگاهی بیاندازید اما از یک کیلومتری ترجمه هم رد نشوید
حاشیه: من کتاب را در طاقچه خواندم پس از صفحه بندی و خوبی و بدی آن بی خبرم
خلاصه بگم، ترجمه افتضاحه و اصل و متن انقدر تفاوت دارن - و ترجمه ی فارسی انقد متن اش خرتوخره - که اصلا و مطلقا نباید سراغ ترجمه رفت. اما خود اشعار انگلیسی صمیمی و جالب اند و من تقریبا همه ی کتاب اصلی رو خوندم جز چند شعری که در ترجمه نیامده، آنها را هم وقت کنم می خوانم
پس به اصل کتاب حتما نگاهی بیاندازید اما از یک کیلومتری ترجمه هم رد نشوید
حاشیه: من کتاب را در طاقچه خواندم پس از صفحه بندی و خوبی و بدی آن بی خبرم
April 24, 2014
I went on a Nikki Giovanni poetry reading binge because she will be at the SC Book Festival in May 2014.
This volume of love poems is not just about relationships. It starts and ends with poems about the Virginia Tech shootings, which is where Giovanni teaches. Even outside these two, these poems have more sorrow, more realism, and more loss than the parallel book, Love Poems. I like the bookends of these two - Love Poems is from much earlier in her career, and Bicycles is far more recent. She has lived and learned some things, and isn't afraid to explore her experiences in her poems.
My favorites:
If Only
Love (And the Meaning of Love)
Hmm, turns out my favorites are of unrequited love. It figures. I always prefer a little bit of pain and agony.
This volume of love poems is not just about relationships. It starts and ends with poems about the Virginia Tech shootings, which is where Giovanni teaches. Even outside these two, these poems have more sorrow, more realism, and more loss than the parallel book, Love Poems. I like the bookends of these two - Love Poems is from much earlier in her career, and Bicycles is far more recent. She has lived and learned some things, and isn't afraid to explore her experiences in her poems.
My favorites:
If Only
"Maybe I could sleep at night
If I wasn't so curious
About whether or not you snore..."
Love (And the Meaning of Love)
Hmm, turns out my favorites are of unrequited love. It figures. I always prefer a little bit of pain and agony.
April 1, 2021
This book goes down smooth. While most of the poems are love poems, with evocative imagery that just FEELS good, some are more personal, some address hardship (like the Virginia Tech shooting).
There are some great lines in some of these poems, like "Love happens first between the ears," "there is way more jazz than blues when I soundtrack my life," and "We are all more than our experiences and less than our dreams."
I especially loved the poems "I Am A Mirror," "My Sleep" and "Migrations."
It is a lovely, satisfying read.
There are some great lines in some of these poems, like "Love happens first between the ears," "there is way more jazz than blues when I soundtrack my life," and "We are all more than our experiences and less than our dreams."
I especially loved the poems "I Am A Mirror," "My Sleep" and "Migrations."
It is a lovely, satisfying read.
March 13, 2022
I read a review of this book prior to reading, and the individual described Bicycles as lovely and satisfying.
While Giovanni does address more personal experiences in her poems such as the Virginia Tech shooting, many of her poems are love driven. My personal favorites are If Only, Migrations, Friends and Lovers, and Everything Good is Simple.
Giovanni also has many eye-catching lines throughout her poems. One of my favorites is “Love happens first between the ears.”
This is my first time getting acquainted with this author, and I was pleased by this collection. A lovely, satisfying read, indeed.
While Giovanni does address more personal experiences in her poems such as the Virginia Tech shooting, many of her poems are love driven. My personal favorites are If Only, Migrations, Friends and Lovers, and Everything Good is Simple.
Giovanni also has many eye-catching lines throughout her poems. One of my favorites is “Love happens first between the ears.”
This is my first time getting acquainted with this author, and I was pleased by this collection. A lovely, satisfying read, indeed.
April 27, 2017
Quick mini-review (I may update and extend later.)
I loved this book but I'm a Nikki Giovanni fan.
Although I didn't love every poem, this book woke up my affinity for poetry that had been dormant for some time.
My favorite poems were, "If Only" and "We Are Virginia Tech" though others resonated with me as well.
I loved this book but I'm a Nikki Giovanni fan.
Although I didn't love every poem, this book woke up my affinity for poetry that had been dormant for some time.
My favorite poems were, "If Only" and "We Are Virginia Tech" though others resonated with me as well.
July 23, 2018
My only complaint about this collection is that it is too short. Here are my favorites:
The opening line 'Bicycles- because love requires trust and balance.'
'In Simpler Times'
'If Only'
'I am Confused'
'No Heaven'
'Alchemical'
'Good Night'
And finally 'No Translations'
Every poem was beautiful but these stood out to me.
The opening line 'Bicycles- because love requires trust and balance.'
'In Simpler Times'
'If Only'
'I am Confused'
'No Heaven'
'Alchemical'
'Good Night'
And finally 'No Translations'
Every poem was beautiful but these stood out to me.
March 31, 2020
I'm not a huge fan of poetry but in these times when its hard to stay focused on any one thing for any length of time, poetry is very comforting. My favorite poem in this collection is I am the Ocean (for Fifty Women over Fifty)
July 8, 2023
Poetry, so precise, hits the spot.
April 4, 2011
Poignant and powerful, Nikki Giovanni’s Bicycles: Love Poems is easily and incomparably a masterpiece of raw, unadulterated truth. Following years of loss—her mother, sister and the Virginia Tech massacre—Giovanni began writing and collecting poems about how she mourned and, ultimately, survived: the rediscovery of love.
Giovanni is not a stranger to love poems; her 1997 publication Love Poems received public and critical acclaim with its unself-conscious, bold and erotic expressions yet it is Bicycles that achieves success and prestige. Energetic, outspoken, and unabashed from the beginning, “Blacksburg Under Siege: 21 August 2006,” to its beautifully resonant conclusion, “We Are Virginia Tech,” Giovanni does not hesitate to take her readers through the wringer of emotions: hunger, desire, complacency, loss, yearning, acceptance, resistance and above all else, love.
Much like her multiple references to jazz music—“I Am Jazz,” “Shoe Jazz Blue Jazz,” “Everything Good is Simple”—Giovanni’s poetry is an achievement in uniting people with her universal themes of freedom and joy. Her reference to music and its magical ability to remind us all the rhythms, beats and harmonies of love does not end with just jazz. In homage to Luther Vandross, her poem “Love Luther” highlights the love his music enchanted a generation with. She inspires and uplifts people with her wit, humor and innate ability to pinpoint exactly what one feels underneath it all. Without fear, Giovanni dives into the thick of things and balances struggle, “Why Don’t You Love Me,” apology, “ A Drunken Phone Call,” and no-words-necessary moments of love, “No Translations.” She holds nothing back, encouraging her readers to truly feel and experience the wonderment of the emotional spectrum of life as one rolls over and inhales the smell of sweat-soaked sheets the morning after a beautiful tryst.
From multiple angles, Giovanni does not let her readers forget that love can manifest itself anywhere, transform us anytime, and remind us that anyone can heal us with the right touch, the right smell, the right song, the right word. As stated above, Giovanni opens and closes with tributes to the tragedy surrounding and birthed by the Virginia Tech massacre but sandwich between the moving, touching poems are the words of growth, exploration and confession. Giovanni muddies the waters of traditional poems, adding a splash of prose poetry that only seems to strengthen the depths of her prolific journey. This strength lies in her detailed attention to the nuances that embody all forms of love: romantic, much like that of “Your Shower,” and “Good Night”; familial in “Christmas Laughter”; and friendship in “Friends in Love.”
Short and sweet, Giovanni weaves a tapestry of tender loving care to the hurt yet hopeful soul. She pays special attention to detail as she walks her readers down the path to the rediscovery of love, all the while teaching the world how precious and remarkable a simple, single moment of love really is. Offered up as observations and reflections, Giovanni outdoes her already well-established success. And, like her introductory epigraph, Giovanni inspires and entertains “because love requires trust and balance.”
Giovanni is not a stranger to love poems; her 1997 publication Love Poems received public and critical acclaim with its unself-conscious, bold and erotic expressions yet it is Bicycles that achieves success and prestige. Energetic, outspoken, and unabashed from the beginning, “Blacksburg Under Siege: 21 August 2006,” to its beautifully resonant conclusion, “We Are Virginia Tech,” Giovanni does not hesitate to take her readers through the wringer of emotions: hunger, desire, complacency, loss, yearning, acceptance, resistance and above all else, love.
Much like her multiple references to jazz music—“I Am Jazz,” “Shoe Jazz Blue Jazz,” “Everything Good is Simple”—Giovanni’s poetry is an achievement in uniting people with her universal themes of freedom and joy. Her reference to music and its magical ability to remind us all the rhythms, beats and harmonies of love does not end with just jazz. In homage to Luther Vandross, her poem “Love Luther” highlights the love his music enchanted a generation with. She inspires and uplifts people with her wit, humor and innate ability to pinpoint exactly what one feels underneath it all. Without fear, Giovanni dives into the thick of things and balances struggle, “Why Don’t You Love Me,” apology, “ A Drunken Phone Call,” and no-words-necessary moments of love, “No Translations.” She holds nothing back, encouraging her readers to truly feel and experience the wonderment of the emotional spectrum of life as one rolls over and inhales the smell of sweat-soaked sheets the morning after a beautiful tryst.
From multiple angles, Giovanni does not let her readers forget that love can manifest itself anywhere, transform us anytime, and remind us that anyone can heal us with the right touch, the right smell, the right song, the right word. As stated above, Giovanni opens and closes with tributes to the tragedy surrounding and birthed by the Virginia Tech massacre but sandwich between the moving, touching poems are the words of growth, exploration and confession. Giovanni muddies the waters of traditional poems, adding a splash of prose poetry that only seems to strengthen the depths of her prolific journey. This strength lies in her detailed attention to the nuances that embody all forms of love: romantic, much like that of “Your Shower,” and “Good Night”; familial in “Christmas Laughter”; and friendship in “Friends in Love.”
Short and sweet, Giovanni weaves a tapestry of tender loving care to the hurt yet hopeful soul. She pays special attention to detail as she walks her readers down the path to the rediscovery of love, all the while teaching the world how precious and remarkable a simple, single moment of love really is. Offered up as observations and reflections, Giovanni outdoes her already well-established success. And, like her introductory epigraph, Giovanni inspires and entertains “because love requires trust and balance.”
November 27, 2023
She’s sassy, she’s spicy - I like her!
October 11, 2009
Nikki Giovanni celebrates her 65 years with 65 poems following in the tradition of her well-received earlier release, Love Poems, and expands on the nuances, notions, and manifestations of love. She taps into the senses: the instant physiological reactions of seeing a lover or loved one regardless of whether they are a revered figure (in an ode to "Free Huey") or familial as reflected in "Christmas Laughter." Tastes are echoed in the references of food seasoned just right and prepared with the right dose of tender loving care. Hearing and touching are featured in several pieces devoted to jazz and the influence music has in the art of love and loving. "Love Luther" is dedicated to the love that Luther Vandross inspired with his melodic voice and songs that begat a generation. She does not let us forget the power of memories elicited from the whiff of a lover's cologne, smell of "him" on his shirt, or revisiting his essence on the sweat-soaked sheets the morning after. Filled with metaphors Miss Nikki reminds us that love can be experienced everywhere at all times from many sources even our ancestors, our families, our friends, ourselves. We must be patient and mindful of it for it is a loving balm that can strengthen and renew us when we need it most.
Opening and closing with reflections on the Virginia Tech massacre, she shares her observations and lessons learned that love can lift anyone from the depth of tragedy. There are other works in the collection that mention the peace and protection love can bring, the sacrifices loved ones make, and the joy it offers. There is something for everyone in this compact offering because she covers the concept in many settings and from many angles. Bicycles is a short, sweet, enjoyable collection that is easily absorbed into the soul.
Opening and closing with reflections on the Virginia Tech massacre, she shares her observations and lessons learned that love can lift anyone from the depth of tragedy. There are other works in the collection that mention the peace and protection love can bring, the sacrifices loved ones make, and the joy it offers. There is something for everyone in this compact offering because she covers the concept in many settings and from many angles. Bicycles is a short, sweet, enjoyable collection that is easily absorbed into the soul.
February 21, 2013
I fell in love from the 1st sight with this book my native land is not America, but Israel and don't familiar with your poets. But I love poetry and slowly slowly I am building my knowledge and test .Shw is so real.... I like her multiple references to jazz music—“I Am Jazz,” “Shoe Jazz Blue Jazz,” “Everything Good is Simple”. Her reference to music, Dance , good food is magical.She holds nothing back, encouraging her readers to truly feel and experience the wonderment of the emotional spectrum of life as one rolls over and inhales the smell of sweat-soaked sheets the morning after a beautiful tryst.
She dives into the thick of things and balances struggle, “Why Don’t You Love Me,” apology, “ A Drunken Phone Call,” and no-words-necessary moments of love, “No Translations.” S
I also like how Nikki Giovanni compares loves to bicycles ... both need trust and balance. These poems are full of longings and ecstasy.
This lines are just brilliant:
--"If only I could stop dreaming of you
Maybe I could sleep at nigh"
---" am the pepper
In your soup
The garlic
In your sauce
The taste in your mouth
When you are tired"
and of course her 1st poem is relevant than ever:
".....he is is so talented...He is so special...he didn't realize his heart is blind ...he didn't understand that he causing pain... bang... bang...I shot you down but I really didn't have a gun... and because you are dead ....doesn't meant I really did it...
....Silencing his victims with death for their good will ans sense of decency
But we all be the same...willful ignoranerce will overpower indignation every time...
April 18, 2010
The latest collection of poems by Giovanni, who is currently a professor at Virginia Tech. The first and last entries describe the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, in which a deranged student shot 32 people to death on campus before taking his own life. Most of the other poems are tender statements of love, with the bicycle used as a metaphor, as "love requires trust and balance". A representative example is If Only (which I'll post in its entirety here, as it is also available on the book's page on the HarperCollins web site):
If Only
If I had never been in your arms
Never danced that dance
Never inhaled your slightly sweaty odor
Maybe I could sleep at night
If I had never held your hand
Never been so close
To the most kissable lips in the universe
Never wanted ever so much
To rest my tongue in your dimple
Maybe I could sleep at night
If I wasn't so curious
About whether or not you snore
And when you sleep do you cuddle your pillow
What you say when you wake up
And if I tickle you
Will you heartedly laugh
If this enchantment
This bewilderment
This longing
Could cease
If this question I ache to ask could be answered
If only I could stop dreaming of you
Maybe I could sleep at night
If Only
If I had never been in your arms
Never danced that dance
Never inhaled your slightly sweaty odor
Maybe I could sleep at night
If I had never held your hand
Never been so close
To the most kissable lips in the universe
Never wanted ever so much
To rest my tongue in your dimple
Maybe I could sleep at night
If I wasn't so curious
About whether or not you snore
And when you sleep do you cuddle your pillow
What you say when you wake up
And if I tickle you
Will you heartedly laugh
If this enchantment
This bewilderment
This longing
Could cease
If this question I ache to ask could be answered
If only I could stop dreaming of you
Maybe I could sleep at night
January 21, 2018
Read it for school and enjoyed it. Had never read any of her work. Powerful poems about mass shootings to open and close the collection which I thought was interesting considering this was supposed to be about love. Lots of good stuff in here - Enjoyed Field Notes, Migrations, The 3rd Rail, My New Car, Another Day (Revisited), Love (and the Meaning of Love). The collection concludes with the poem written after the attack at Virginia Tech and is amazing. Short excerpt below:
"We do not understand this tragedy / We know we did nothing to deserve it / But neither does the child in Africa / Dying of AIDS / Neither do the Invisible Children / Walking the night away / To avoid being kidnapped by a rogue army / Neither does the baby elephant watching his community / Be devastated for ivory / Neither does the Mexican child looking / For fresh water / Neither does the Iraqi teenager dodging bombs / Neither does the Appalachian infant killed / By a boulder / Dislodged / Because the land was destabilized / No one deserves a tragedy" - p. 107-108, from We Are Virginia Tech (16 April 2007)
"Bicycles: because love requires trust and balance"
"We do not understand this tragedy / We know we did nothing to deserve it / But neither does the child in Africa / Dying of AIDS / Neither do the Invisible Children / Walking the night away / To avoid being kidnapped by a rogue army / Neither does the baby elephant watching his community / Be devastated for ivory / Neither does the Mexican child looking / For fresh water / Neither does the Iraqi teenager dodging bombs / Neither does the Appalachian infant killed / By a boulder / Dislodged / Because the land was destabilized / No one deserves a tragedy" - p. 107-108, from We Are Virginia Tech (16 April 2007)
"Bicycles: because love requires trust and balance"
March 23, 2009
Appropriately, I bought this book on Valentine's Day, at the Book Mark in Mount Pleasant, killing time after our dinner at China Garden before it was time to pick up Jefferson from free child care at New Life church. Not only is it Nikki, but the cover called to me as a clear echo of her earlier collection, Love Poems, out in '97, which I discovered in college and was the true dawning of my love for her.
This book of poems is very much the same. The poet is a little older, a little wiser, but still joyful, still with a lust for life. Even in her most sorrowful poems, there is such love underneath the pain.
Not only do I adore Nikki, I want to be Nikki. I want to be able to react with such grace and such love. And of course, I'd love to be able to write about it so cleverly afterwords. And to bear up so cheekily under a love unrequited! Not for Nikki any stereotypical tearing of hair and rending of garments, but almost... merely, perplexion. That capability I envy, even if it turns out somehow it's faked....
This book of poems is very much the same. The poet is a little older, a little wiser, but still joyful, still with a lust for life. Even in her most sorrowful poems, there is such love underneath the pain.
Not only do I adore Nikki, I want to be Nikki. I want to be able to react with such grace and such love. And of course, I'd love to be able to write about it so cleverly afterwords. And to bear up so cheekily under a love unrequited! Not for Nikki any stereotypical tearing of hair and rending of garments, but almost... merely, perplexion. That capability I envy, even if it turns out somehow it's faked....
Read
July 9, 2022I obtained this book for free from the 2010 Loudoun One Book/One Community program. Of course I completely didn't follow the purpose of the program by reading it 12 years later when I no longer live in Loudoun! Poetry normally isn't my thing, but I found these poems to be accessible and I liked the love theme of the poems. She was a professor at VA Tech when the shooting occurred in 2006 and the final poem was We Are Virginia Tech which also had meaning for me. I read one poem a day until I completed the book. It is in good condition and I will be donating this copy.
February 11, 2013
Loved loved loved!
I bunny eared all the poems I loved in the book and now it looks twice as big as it did before I began.
Being the hopeless romantic that i am a lot of the poems resonated with me. Because of the personal relationship I could have with the text made me love the poems so much more than just appreciating her for her ability to write.
I loved her dedications, her imagery, her parallelisms.
Phenomenal I'm glad i finally read it!
I bunny eared all the poems I loved in the book and now it looks twice as big as it did before I began.
Being the hopeless romantic that i am a lot of the poems resonated with me. Because of the personal relationship I could have with the text made me love the poems so much more than just appreciating her for her ability to write.
I loved her dedications, her imagery, her parallelisms.
Phenomenal I'm glad i finally read it!
July 27, 2014
"Bicycles: because love requires trust and balance."
Is how Giovanni begins this short volume of poems, from the dedication page. After years of trying to keep books untouched, I now allow myself to 'dog ear' and underline with abandon. I don't think a page of this short volume of beautifully written poems has been left untouched. Thank you, Nikki Giovanni, for expressing my thoughts better than I can think them myself.
Is how Giovanni begins this short volume of poems, from the dedication page. After years of trying to keep books untouched, I now allow myself to 'dog ear' and underline with abandon. I don't think a page of this short volume of beautifully written poems has been left untouched. Thank you, Nikki Giovanni, for expressing my thoughts better than I can think them myself.
March 26, 2009
The Artist (p. 102)
And so it comes
To this
The sun beating
Down
The people indifferently passing
And we... out
Of breath
In a pool of salty
Sweat
Laughing Happy
In each other's
Trust
That once again
We gentled the stone
All the way down
And will now
Push it back up...
We are Sisyphus
And so it comes
To this
The sun beating
Down
The people indifferently passing
And we... out
Of breath
In a pool of salty
Sweat
Laughing Happy
In each other's
Trust
That once again
We gentled the stone
All the way down
And will now
Push it back up...
We are Sisyphus
April 16, 2009
I love Giovanni. I have talked to my students about a little of her background and they seem interested. Of course some of her poems are not right for my middle school students and should wait until they are more mature, but I have given them a taste of wonderful poetry and hopefully inspired them to continue seeking out great poets and their work.
November 13, 2009
My New Car
I drive
like I have a new car
I don't want anyone
to bump it
or scratch it
or actually get too close
to it
Stay in your own lane
I want to shout
But I stay satisfyingly cool
I fit in
I relax
I don't want you to think
I think
I have any reason
To be jealous
I drive
like I have a new car
I don't want anyone
to bump it
or scratch it
or actually get too close
to it
Stay in your own lane
I want to shout
But I stay satisfyingly cool
I fit in
I relax
I don't want you to think
I think
I have any reason
To be jealous
October 24, 2011
I checked out this book of poems mainly because of the title "Bicycles", because I love biking. A good part of the poetry found here are inspired by love or loss of love. My favorite poem was "I Know the Song", about being a motherless child. Giovanni's poetry reminds me of an impressionistic painting - leaving the reader (viewer) to fill in the fine details from their own experiences.
Read
February 14, 2010She is as vibrant and warm in person as her poetry is on the page. Reading these poems makes love seem possible, and unchanged, at any age. From Alchemical because love is magic): "I am a match/ Light me/ You need to change/ How you look/ At things."
June 19, 2013
A short collection of poems on all love in all forms. Raps and riffs and meditations on life and love and modern living in modern times. I've never read a Giovanni collection, though I have loved some poems. This was quick and accessible, like a chap book. Affirming and reaffirming.
May 9, 2015
There were a few poems that were sad and felt sort of out place, but I think love is both happy and sad, so even if they weren't all the happiest of poems, this collection was really sweet and heartfelt to me.
August 12, 2020
There is nothing to be said of Mrs. Giovanni that hasn’t already been said. This was a beautiful collection. It sparked happiness, sadness, love, all the things and all the feels.
I would recommend this collection to fans of poetry, that is all.
I would recommend this collection to fans of poetry, that is all.
February 6, 2014
I love me some Nikki Giovanni!
December 23, 2015
Bicycles: because love requires trust and balance
sweet poems...
sweet poems...
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