Nikki Giovanni: An Iconoclast of Black Poetry
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni
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Barnes and Noble
by
Nikki Giovanni
ISBN: 0060541334
Format: Hardcover, 496pp
Pub. Date: November 2003
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Reviewed by Rondall
Brasher
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni has been grafted to my hands for the
last 3 weeks. This anthology is the chronological atlas of her published work
from 1968 - 1998. But this goes beyond the simplicity of a gathered collection
of publications. Each work is tagged with a biographical timeline;
introductions; new after-words from Giovanni; along with title and first line
indexes, and illuminating notes about the poems. The effort to put together a
first rate book is evident from page one. The liner notes refer to this book as
the testimony of Giovanni life’s work. I concur with this assessment and commend
the results.
For those of you who are Nikki Giovanni fans, this book is more than just
complementary. It provides depth through personal insights that tend to edify
her work. Her books of poems: Black Feeling Black Talk (1968), Black Judgment
(1968), Re: Creation (1970), My House (1972), The Women and the Men (1975),
Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day (1978), and Those Who Ride Night Winds (1983) are
here in completion. She has also included a section called Occasional Poems
which are primarily contemporary odes dedicated to significant persons/people
whom have moved her to pay homage to them in words.
This collection could be a chronological study of the transition of
Giovanni’s poetry. Her iconic debut was the self-published revolutionary
scripture Black Feeling Black Talk. It is a contemporary collection that has
established itself as an indisputable centerpiece of modern poetry. This book is
a resounding voice for the 1960’s Black empowerment and pain. It is an ardent
torch for socio-political change. Giovanni’s work did not just comment on
society’s ills, she verbally demonstrated against it.
So let us work
For our of presence
When Stokely is in
The Black House
And all will be right with
Our World
From A Historical Footnote to Consider
Only When all Else Fails
This acridity of her writing changed at the break of the 70’s. This is
probably not so coincidental with the birth of her son. Giovanni evolved from
writing what was outside her window, to what was in her soul. Her book aptly
titled My House initiates a trek of introspection that has continued to
cultivate itself over time. Her poetry grows to entwine her with the world that
she has become a vital part. By the time her most recent works are written the
evolution is evident and pronounce. Giovanni has taught, but more importantly
she has learned. She fills art not only with her imagination, but her readers
also. It could be that she hopes to initiate change one mind at a time.
The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni is not flawless in its attempt to give
readers a definitive presentation of this artist. There have been other
collections from her as recent as The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni:
1968-1995, which was published in 1996. There was also The Nikki Giovanni Poetry
Collection audio disk that she released back in December 2002. Multiple volumes
of poetry collections always turn me off. This book however, is by far the most
complete chronological presentation of her work. The annotation of her work is
also very nice. I would prefer not to see a continued duplication of the same
content, even if it is the venerated Nikki Giovanni.
