Nikki Giovanni - Introduction and Biography

Nikki Giovanni was born on June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Her real name is Yolanda Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni and she was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio.  She was the younger of two daughters in a close-knit family.  She gained an intense appreciation for her African-American heritage from her outspoken grandmother.  She attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1960, where she worked with the school’s Writer’s Workshop and edited the literary magazine.  In 1967 she received her Bachelor of Arts.  She organized the Black Arts Festival in Cincinnati.  She entered graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University in 1967.  She is a lung cancer survivor.  She received many honors including three NAACP Image Awards for Literature in 1998, the Langston Hughes award for Distinguished Contributions to Arts and Letters in 1996, as well as more than twenty honorary degrees form national colleges and universities.  She has been given keys to more than a dozen cities, including New Orleans, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York.  She has been named in several magazines as woman of the year, including Ladies Home Journal, Ebony, Mademoiselle, and Essence.   Giovanni was the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award.  She has served as a poetry judge for the national Book Awards.  She was also a finalist for a Germany Award in the category of Spoken Word.  Currently she is a Professor of English and Gloria D. Smith Professor of Black Studies at Virginia Tech, where she has taught since 1987.  She is one of the best-known African-American poets who reached fame during the late 1960s and 1970s.  Her distinctive and understanding poetry confirms to her own developing awareness and experiences such as from child to a young woman, from a simple college freshman to an experienced civil rights advocate and from a daughter to a mother.  Her poetry conveys strong racial pride and respect for family.  Her casual style makes her work understandable to adults and children.  She has published several works of nonfiction, children’s literature and recordings, including the Emmy-award nominated The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection (2004).  She is a frequent lecturer and reader.  She has taught at Rutgers University, Ohio State University and Virginia Tech. Giovanni taught at Virginia Tech during the tragic shooting in 2007 and wrote a chant-poem which she read at the memorial service the day after.  She continues to supplement her poetry with occasional volumes of nonfiction.  She has published at least five books of poetry in ten years.  She enjoys writing and it is part of her life.                                                  

Poetry Foundation. Web. 19 Apr. 2011.

"Nikki Giovanni." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Web. 19 Apr. 2011.