Nikki Giovanni: Love Poems and A Good Cry

Publisher's Summary

The poetry of Nikki Giovanni has spurred movements, turned hearts, and informed generations. She's been hailed as a firebrand, a radical, a healer, and a sage; a wise and courageous voice who has spoken out on the sensitive issues, including race and gender, that touch our national consciousness.

Love Poems: Nikki reads a stunning collection of more than 20 romantic, bold, and erotic love poems, expressing notions of love in ways that are delightfully unexpected and full of fearless passion and spirited wit. From the revolutionary "Seduction" to the tender "Just a Simple Declaration of Love" and the elegiac "All Eyez on U". written for Tupac Shakur, these poems embody the fearless passion and spirited wit for which Nikki Giovanni is beloved and revered.

A Good Cry: With her new collection, Nikki offers listeners an intimate, affecting, and illuminating look at her personal history and the mysteries of her own heart. Reading her work, she takes us into her confidence, describing the joy and peril of aging and recalling the violence that permeated her parents' marriage and her early life. Nikki also celebrates her good friend Maya Angelou and the many years of friendship, poetry, and kitchen-table laughter they shared.

©2017 Nikki Giovanni (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Engaging

I read poetry, or I should say I prefer to listen to poetry, particularly if read by the author. But I rarely write a review as I am unsure how to go about it. February is Black History Month. In honor of this I chose to read this book of poems by Giovanni.

This book covers a variety of love poems: love of a women for a man, a parent for a child, a child for a parent, for grandparents, food, words and learning. Some of the poems also cover the Civil Rights Era. The first part of the book is poems read one after the other. The last part of the book Giovanni explains why she wrote a poem that she is about to read. She also tells a bit about her life and of people important to her career. I was most interested in her long-time friendship with Maya Angelou. I enjoyed listening to her poems particularly the rhythm of her words. I look forward to listening to more poems of Giovanni.

Yolande Comelia “Nikki” Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, Fisk University and Columbia University. She is a professor at Virginia Tech University. She has won many awards for her poetry and writings. One of the most recent is being a finalist for the 2018 Audie Award for Best Narration by the Author. The book is almost three hours.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

A Love Letter in the form of Poems

This book was a love letter to many parts of her life in poetry form. It felt so intimate and I greatly appreciated the times where she explained the origins of the poems. Hearing her own poems in her voice was surreal and really made the experience greater.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

If you know then you know

Nikki Giovanni never disappoints! I have always loved her work and its just a huge bonus to have her read her own work. This is an easy listen that will pull on heart strings. It has a real sentimental vibe that is easily enjoyable for any reader.

Captivating writer

I loved Nikki as a teen and I love her even more as an adult. I haven’t been really loving to myself but she has reignited that love.