Nikki Giovanni:
The Woman Known As The "Princess Of Black Poetry," Was Born On This Day In 1943, In Knoxville, Tennessee.
Nikki Giovanni Grew Up In Ohio And In 1960. Went Back To Tennessee And Enrolled At Her Grandfather's Alma Marter, Fisk University.
She Graduated In 1967, With Honors, Receiving A B.A. In History. She Went On To Attend The University Of Pennsylvania And Columbia University.
In 1969 She Began Teaching At Livingston College Of Rutgers University. Since 1987, She Has Been Teaching Writing And Literature At Virginia Tech, In Blacksburg, VA.
Giovanni's First Volume Of Poetry, Black Feeling, Black Talk, Was Published In The Mid-1960's, During What Has Been Called The African American Literary Awakening, Or The Black Arts Movement.
At The Time, Her Style Was To Mix Slang And Profanity With Elegant Speech And Poetry. Her Intention Was To Raise The Consciouness Level Of The Reader.
Still A Prolific Writer, Giovanni's Style Today Can be Defined As Less Angry And Devoid Of Bitterness. As She Explained In A Newspaper Interview:
"One winds down. We touched on every sore that anybody in the world ever had and I think we ought to do some healing. I'm not downgrading anger, but how long can you stay angry?"
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.
