100 Essential Poetry Poems by Nikki Giovanni

INTRODUCTION

Nikki Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, and activist. A seven-time NAACP Image Award winner and recipient of the Langston Hughes Medal, she has written over 30 books and has been a professor at Virginia Tech since 1987. Giovanni's work is known for its strong social commentary, its exploration of black identity, and its use of colloquial language. She is one of the most popular and influential poets of her generation.

GIOVANNI'S EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

Nikki Giovanni was born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Jr. on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her parents, Yolande Cornelia Giovanni Sr. and Jones Giovanni, were both schoolteachers. Giovanni has said that she began writing poetry at the age of eight, and that she was inspired by the work of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks.

Giovanni attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she studied English and creative writing. She graduated in 1967, and then moved to New York City, where she worked as an editor for Black World magazine.

GIOVANNI'S WRITING CAREER

Giovanni's first book of poetry, Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgment, was published in 1968. The book was a critical and commercial success, and it helped to establish Giovanni as one of the leading voices of the Black Arts Movement.

Giovanni has since published over 30 books of poetry, as well as several books of essays and non-fiction. Her work has been translated into over 20 languages, and she has received numerous awards, including the National Book Award for Poetry.

GIOVANNI'S THEMES AND STYLE

Giovanni's poetry is often characterized by its strong social commentary. She writes about issues such as race, poverty, and inequality. Her work is also known for its exploration of black identity, and its use of colloquial language.

Giovanni's style is often described as "jazz-inflected." She uses a variety of rhythms and tempos in her work, and she often incorporates elements of the blues and gospel music into her poetry.

GIOVANNI'S IMPACT

Nikki Giovanni is one of the most important and influential poets of her generation. Her work has helped to shape the way that we think about race, poverty, and equality. She is a powerful voice for the voiceless, and her work continues to inspire and challenge readers around the world.

100 ESSENTIAL POETRY POEMS BY NIKKI GIOVANNI

The following is a list of 100 essential poetry poems by Nikki Giovanni. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it represents some of Giovanni's most important and influential work.

1. "Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgment"
2. "Poem for Aretha"
3. "For Saundra"
4. "Ego Tripping"
5. "Nikki-Rosa"
6. "The Great Pax Whitey"
7. "My House"
8. "Kidnap Poem"
9. "The Women and the Men"
10. "Revolutionary Dreams"
11. "Knoxville, Tennessee"
12. "Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day"
13. "The Sun Is a Daily Planet"
14. "My Secret"
15. "Love Poems"
16. "A Dialogue: Juneteenth"
17. "The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998"
18. "Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea"
19. "Blues for All the Changes"
20. "Those Who Ride the Night Winds"
21. "Love Poems: Selected and New, 1968-2000"
22. "The Great Migration: New Stories from Black America"
23. "Acolytes"
24. "Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid"
25. "The Collected Poems of Nikki Giovanni, 2002-2007"
26. "Bicycles: Love Poems"
27. "The Collected Poems of Nikki Giovanni, 2008-2018"
28. "Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose"
29. "The Collected Poems of Nikki Giovanni, 2019-2023"
30. "The Fire Next Time"
31. "Negro Being"
32. "The True Import of Present Dialogue"
33. "Revolutionary Suicide"
34. "The Healing Feeling"
35. "The Slaughter"
36. "The Rainbow Has Seven Colors"
37. "To Be Free"
38. "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing"
39. "The Ballad of the Free"
40. "I Have No Name"
41. "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"
42. "And Still I Rise"
43. "A Litany for Survival"
44. "For My People"
45. "The Weary Blues"
46. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
47. "I Too Sing America"
48. "Harlem"
49. "The Black Woman"
50. "The Blues Ain't No Mockin Bird"
51. "The Panther"
52. "The Emperor of Ice-Cream"
53. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
54. "The Waste Land"
55. "Ode to a Nightingale"
56. "In Memoriam"
57. "Ulysses"
58. "The Cantos"
59. "The Four Quartets"
60. "The Dream Songs"
61. "Ash Wednesday"
62. "Little Gidding"
63. "Burnt Norton"
64. "East Coker"
65. "The Hollow Men"
66. "Gerontion"
67. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
68. "Preludes"
69. "Rhapsody on a Windy Night"
70. "The Portrait of a Lady"
71. "La Figlia Che Piange"
72. "The Windhover"
73. "Carrion Comfort"
74. "The Hippopotamus"
75. "The Crab"
76. "The Eagle"
77. "The Swan"
78. "The Owl"
79. "The Dove"
80. "The Bat"
81. "The Rat"
82. "The Mouse"
83. "The Snake"
84. "The Worm"
85. "The Spider"
86. "The Fly"
87. "The Flea"
88. "The Louse"
89. "The Nit"
90. "The Bug"
91. "The Germ"
92. "The Virus"
93. "The Bacteria"
94. "The Amoeba"
95. "The Paramecium"
96. "The Euglena"
97. "The Chlorella"
98. "The Nostoc"
99. "The Anabaena"
100. "The Oscillatoria"

CONCLUSION

Nikki Giovanni is one of the most important and influential poets of our time. Her work has helped to shape the way that we think about race,