Nikki Giovanni

My Reflections on Nikki Giovanni’s Poetry

            Nikki Giovanni is an author that we have studied who is still living. She is sixty-seven years old.  She teaches at Virginia Tech where she is a professor of Black Studies. She has received many awards over the years. Many of the awards she has received include an NAACP and Langston Hughes Award. Her first published work was in 1968. She has also battled lung cancer and is a survivor. The last work she published was in 2005 when she also contributed an introduction to the anthology Breaking the Silence: Inspirational Stories of Black Cancer Survivors (Hilton Publishing, 2005).

            This week’s assignment included three poems from Nikki Giovanni. The three poems were: “Nikki Rosa,” “I’m Not Lonely,” and “Poem for Black Boys.” Poverty and harder times are common themes in these poems. She often explored the life of an African American as well.

            “Nikki Rosa” speaks a lot of childhood of black children. There are references to white people in the poem. She notes many of the differences that children have and what makes them happy. She also notes how some things don’t matter to children who come from poverty. All they need is love.

            “I’m Not Lonely” is another poem of Nikki Giovanni. It is a sad poem that speaks of lost love. The speaker of the poem is professing that they are not lonely anymore and they don’t need the person who has left them. I thought it had a sad tone. The speaker of the poem is a big girl and doesn’t need anyone or have bad dreams anymore. The beginning of the poem started out strong, but ended in a sad way.

            “Poem for Black Boys” is another one of Nikki Giovanni’s poems. It seems to be an instruction type poem for young black males. She dedicates this poem especially to a person named James.