Nikki Giovanni facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nikki Giovanni
Giovanni around 1980
Born	Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Jr. (1943-06-07)June 7, 1943 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	December 9, 2024(2024-12-09) (aged 81) Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Writer poet activist educator
Education	Fisk University (BA) University of Pennsylvania Columbia University
Period	1968–2022
Children	1

Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (born June 7, 1943 – died December 9, 2024) was an American poet, writer, and teacher. She was also an activist who worked for social change. Nikki Giovanni was one of the most famous African-American poets in the world.

Her writings included poetry books, spoken word albums, and essays. She wrote about many topics, like race, social issues, and even children's stories. She won many awards, such as the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. In 2004, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. She was also named one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends".

Giovanni became well-known in the late 1960s. She was a leading writer in the Black Arts Movement. This movement was a time when Black artists created works that celebrated Black culture and history. Her early poems were strong and showed a clear African-American point of view. Some people called her the "Poet of the Black Revolution."

In the 1970s, she started writing books for children. She also helped start a publishing company called NikTom Ltd. This company helped other African-American women writers publish their books. In later years, her work talked about social issues, human relationships, and hip hop music. Poems like "Knoxville, Tennessee" and "Nikki-Rosa" are still printed in many poetry books today.

Nikki Giovanni received many honors. She had 27 honorary degrees from different colleges. She was also given the key to over two dozen cities. She won the NAACP Image Award seven times. A special honor was when a bat species in South America, called Micronycteris giovanniae, was named after her in 2007.

Giovanni was proud of her roots in the Appalachian mountains. She worked to change how people viewed Appalachians and Affrilachians (African Americans from Appalachia). She taught at several universities, including Queens College, Rutgers, and Ohio State. She was a special professor at Virginia Tech until she retired in 2022.

Early Life and Education

Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her parents were Yolande Cornelia Sr. and Jones "Gus" Giovanni. Soon after she was born, her family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Her parents worked at Glenview School there. In 1948, the family moved to Wyoming, Ohio. During these early years, Nikki's sister, Gary, started calling her "Nikki."

In 1958, Giovanni went back to Knoxville to live with her grandparents. She attended Austin High School. In 1960, she started college at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. This was her grandfather's old college. She was an "Early Entrant," meaning she could go to college without finishing high school first.

At first, she had some trouble at Fisk University. She was asked to leave after she went home for Thanksgiving without getting permission. Giovanni moved back to Knoxville. She worked at a Walgreens store and helped care for her nephew. In 1964, she talked to the new Dean of Women at Fisk, who encouraged her to return.

When she went back to Fisk, Giovanni became very active. She edited a student writing magazine called Élan. She also restarted the campus group for SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee). This group worked for civil rights. In 1967, she graduated with honors, earning a degree in history.

Becoming a Writer

After college, Giovanni's grandmother passed away. She started writing poems to help her deal with the sadness. These poems were later put into her book Black Feelings, Black Talk. In 1968, Giovanni studied at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work. Then she moved to New York City. She also briefly studied poetry at Columbia University School of the Arts. She published Black Feeling, Black Talk herself.

In 1969, Giovanni started teaching at Livingston College at Rutgers University. She was an important part of the Black Arts Movement. In 1969, she had her only child, a son named Thomas Watson Giovanni.

After her son was born, Giovanni realized that children have different interests than adults. This led her to write six children's books.

In 1970, she often appeared on a TV show called Soul!. This show promoted Black art and culture. Famous guests like Muhammad Ali and James Baldwin were on the show. Giovanni helped create episodes for several years. From 1973 to 1987, she published many poetry books, children's books, and spoken word albums.

Later Career and Honors

In 1987, Giovanni began teaching creative writing and literature at Virginia Tech. She became a very respected professor there. She retired in 2022. She received the NAACP Image Award many times. She also earned 20 honorary doctorates and other awards. These included the Rosa Parks Award and the Langston Hughes Award. She holds the key to several cities, like Dallas and New York City.

Giovanni speaking at Emory University in 2008, 2008

In the early 1990s, Giovanni was diagnosed with lung cancer. She had many surgeries. Her 1999 book Blues: For All the Changes: New Poems includes poems about nature and her fight with cancer. In 2002, Giovanni spoke at NASA. She talked about the importance of African Americans exploring space. Her book Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea also explored these ideas.

She was honored by the HistoryMakers for her life and career. She was also the first person to receive the Rosa L. Parks Women of Courage Award. In 2015, she was named one of the Library of Virginia's "Virginia Women in History." This was for her contributions to poetry, education, and society.

In 2020, Giovanni appeared in a campaign ad for Joe Biden. She read her poem "Dream." A documentary film about her, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, won an award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Final Years

Giovanni announced her retirement from Virginia Tech in September 2022. She had taught there for 35 years. The university gave her the title of University Distinguished Professor Emerita in December 2022.

Nikki Giovanni passed away on December 9, 2024, at the age of 81. She died in a hospital in Blacksburg, Virginia, from complications of lung cancer.

Her Writing Style

Giovanni in 1997

The Civil Rights Movement and Black Power movement inspired her early poetry. These poems were collected in books like Black Feeling, Black Talk (1968) and Black Judgement (1968). These early works helped make Giovanni a new voice for African Americans. Many people saw her as one of the best African-American poets of the 1960s. Her early poems were strong and direct. They showed a need for Black awareness and unity.

Giovanni wrote about racial equality and also supported gender equality. She was proud to be a "Black American, a daughter, mother, and a Professor of English." She often used African-American Vernacular English in her writing. She wrote more than two dozen books, including poetry, children's books, and essays. She wanted her work to be easy for both adults and children to understand.

In 2007, she wrote a children's picture book called Rosa. This book was about the life of Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks. It became a best-seller and won awards.

Giovanni's poetry reached many people through her live readings. She often spoke about "oppression, anger, and solidarity." After her son was born, she recorded some of her poems with jazz and gospel music. She traveled the world, sharing her work with large audiences. She believed in human unity, like Martin Luther King Jr. She thought that a fair government should include everyone, no matter their race or gender.

Giovanni was often interviewed about her poetry, especially themes of gender and race. In one interview, she talked about her poem "Nikki-Rosa." She explained that she wanted to show the happy parts of Black childhood, not just the sad stories. For example, she wrote: "Black love is Black wealth and they'll/probably talk about my hard childhood/and never understand that/all the while I was quite happy."

Her early poetry also explored Black womanhood and Black manhood. In a book she wrote with James Baldwin called A Dialogue, they talked about the role of Black men in the home. Giovanni believed that Black women and men should support each other. She often spoke out against violence caused by hate.

Her book Those Who Ride the Night Winds (1983) honored important Black figures. Her later works, like Acolytes (2007), celebrated love and memories. They also talked about her own struggles as a Black woman and a cancer survivor. She connected her experiences to the larger history of African Americans and their fight for equality.

Bicycles: Love Poems (2009) was a companion to her 1997 book Love Poems. Both books touched on the deaths of her mother, sister, and the tragedy at Virginia Tech. Giovanni chose "bicycles" as a metaphor for love. She said love needs "trust and balance."

In Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid (2013), Giovanni wrote about falling off a bike as a child. Her mother told her, "Come here, Nikki and I will pick you up." But then she realized her mother made her get up herself. This book mixes poetry and prose. It uses food as a way to connect to memories of her family. The main idea of the book is about love relationships.

In 2004, Giovanni was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. This was for The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, which featured her poems with gospel music. She also appeared on a song by the group Blackalicious in 2000.

She was asked by National Public Radio to write a poem for President Barack Obama's inauguration. The poem, "Roll Call: A Song of Celebration," ended with hopeful lines: "Yes We Can/Yes We Can/Yes We Can." Giovanni also read poetry at the Lincoln Memorial in 2009.

In October 2017, Giovanni published A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter. This book included poems honoring people who had influenced her and passed away, like her friend Maya Angelou. She often read from her books. In 2017, she gave a TEDx talk where she read her poem "My Sister and Me."

Awards and Recognition

Personal Awards

Awarded Works

Named After Her

Giovanni's Big-Eared Bat, also known as Micronycteris giovanniae, was named in her honor in 2007. This bat is found in western Ecuador. It was named after her to recognize her poetry and writings.

Works

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