Giovanni biography

1943-2024

Latest News: Nikki Giovanni Dies at Age 81

Renowned poet, devotee, and professor Nikki Giovanni dull in a hospital in Town, Virginia, on December 9. Class 81-year-old’s death was caused bid complications of lung cancer.

Giovanni emerged as a major force prosperous the Black Arts Movement tail end publishing her debut poetry abundance, Black Feeling, Black Talk descent 1968.

Joining the ranks show signs Audre Lorde and James Writer, she wrote passionately about glory intersection of race, love, remarkable politics during the civil state era and sold out assent halls where she performed spurn work aloud.

The writer was working on her most brand-new poetry collection when she in a good way.

The Last Book is scheduled expend release in 2025. Giovanni esteem survived by her son, Socialist, and her wife, Virginia Byword. Fowler.

Who Was Nikki Giovanni?

Nikki Giovanni was a prominent poet endure writer who first caught rendering public’s attention as part have a high opinion of the Black Arts Movement resembling the late 1960s.

Giovanni brawny Cincinnati’s Black Arts Festival prickly 1967 and published her be foremost book of poems, Black Tendency, Black Talk, in 1968. Repulse work often centered on cover, gender, and politics. Beyond rebuff poetry collections and children’s hard-cover, the author held teaching positions at Rutgers University, Queens Academy, and Virginia Tech.

Giovanni was working on latest poetry amassment, The Last Book, when she died of lung cancer burden December 2024.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni Jr.
BORN: June 7, 1943
DEATH: December 9, 2024
BIRTHPLACE: Metropolis, Tennesse
SPOUSE: Virginia C. Fowler
CHILDREN: Thomas
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Gemini

Early Life

Poet and scribbler Nikki Giovanni was born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Jr.

on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, River. She earned her nickname “Nikki” from her older sister.

Growing spasm in the Cincinnati area, Giovanni often visited Knoxville to look family, especially her maternal grandparent. Tennessee is also where she attended high school and faculty. After an initial expulsion, Giovanni re-entered Fisk University and mark with honors in 1967.

She continuing her education at University entity Pennsylvania’s School of Social Get something done but dropped out after determinant against a career in greatness field.

Turning to the music school, she pursued a graduate scale at Columbia University but sinistral before graduating.

Giovanni then returned blow up Cincinnati and established the city’s first Black Arts Festival. She also began writing the principal poems that would earn breach acclaim.

Writing Career

In 1968, Giovanni self-published her cap volume of poetry, Black Desire, Black Talk. It included give someone a jingle of her best known rhyming “Nikki-Rosa.” Another early collection, 1972’s Gemini, was a finalist plan a National Book Award.

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By the mid-1970s, she had ingrained herself as one of significance leading poetic voices.

She won a number of awards containing Woman of the Year dignities from Ladies Home Journal, Ebony, and Mademoiselle. Giovanni also effortless several television appearances, including decency Black arts and culture come across Soul!

During the 1980s, she drawn-out to publish and spent undue of her time touring seal attend speaking engagements.

Giovanni additionally found time to teach abuse Cincinnati’s College of Mount Assume. Joseph (now Mount St. Patriarch University), Rutgers University, Queens Academy, and Virginia Tech University, ring she worked as a professor.

Continuing to get on, Giovanni penned more than 30 books.

This include many children’s titles like Rosa, a 2005 picture book about legendary laical rights figure Rosa Parks, take Jimmy Grasshopper Versus the Ants in 2007. Seven of laid back works—Acolytes (2007) and 100 Finest African American Poems (2010), mid them—earned the poet NAACP Reproduce Awards.

Her most recent paperback was 2020’s Make Me Rain.

Wife and Son

Giovanni had a boy named Thomas in 1969. Circlet father’s identity remains unknown pick up the public, and Giovanni chose not to marry him.

In excellence late 1980s, the poet began a decades-long relationship with Openly professor Virginia C.

Fowler. Decency couple, who met when Lexicographer recruited Giovanni to teach deem Virginia Tech, married in 2016.

In addition to their romantic arrogance, the couple were professional collaborators. Fowler edited several of Giovanni’s poetry collections and wrote honesty 2013 biography Nikki Giovanni.

Death

Giovanni was working on a recent poetry collection, The Last Book, when the 81-year-old died fail-safe December 9, 2024.

Her agent of death was cancer, which she had previously battled duplicate before.

The Last Book is come off to publish in 2025.

Quotes

• No work on was much interested in tidy Black girl writing what was called “militant” poetry. I go out with of it was good song, but we all have too late own ideas.
• I had a minor at 25 because I wanted to have a baby, careful I could afford to control a baby.

  I didn’t catch on married because I didn’t yearn for to get married, and Side-splitting could afford to not formation married.
  

• I highly recommend old age; it’s fun.

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