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Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you’re in and take advantage of it. Now, everything I do, I do because I want to. And I believe the best is yet to come.
Renowned poet Nikki Giovanni has passed away at the age of 81 on Monday, Dec. 9, after being diagnosed with cancer for the third time. Renée Watson, a friend and author, confirmed the news and expressed gratitude for the time Giovanni dedicated to her literary peers all around the world.
Poet Kwame Alexander also honored her in a statement, acknowledging her first poetry collection “Black Feeling Black Talk,” published in 1968, as a significant contribution to the Black Arts Movement. Giovanni’s writing delved into themes of love, politics, loneliness, and race, with a mix of sparse and longing language and dense and righteous prose. One of her poems, “Word Poem,” ends with the thought-provoking lines, “let’s build / what we become /when we dream.”
Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. was born on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee. She spent her childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio and its surrounding suburbs, but later returned to Nashville for her studies at Fisk University.
At Fisk, she connected with other writers who would go on to become prominent figures in Black literature, such as Dudley Randall, Margaret Walker, and Amiri Baraka. During this time, Giovanni also helped re-establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
As her writing gained recognition, she appeared as a frequent guest on Soul!, a talk show focused on Black arts and culture, which aired on WNET. Notably, she also had a conversation with the acclaimed writer James Baldwin following her recognition as “Woman of the Year” by both Ebony and Mademoiselle magazines.
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