A Reading with Nikki Giovanni | A Busboys and Poets Presentation
Date and Time
Apr 22, 2024 6:00 pm
Location
Anacostia
2004 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE, Washington, District of Columbia, 20020
Apr 22, 2024 6:00 pm
Anacostia
A National Poetry Month Celebration in the heart of Washington D.C.'s Arts & Culture District, Historic Anacostia.
Nikki Giovanni gained initial fame in the late 1960s as one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement. Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement of the period, her early work provides a strong, militant African-American perspective, which led her to be dubbed the "Poet of the Black Revolution”. Her unique and insightful poetry testifies to her own evolving awareness and experiences: from child to young woman, from naive college freshman to seasoned civil rights activist, from daughter to mother and now grandmother.
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. Frequently anthologized, Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride and respect for family.
Her informal style makes her work accessible to both adults and children. In addition to collections such as Re: Creation (1970), Love Poems (1997), and The Collected Poems of Nikki Giovanni (2003), Giovanni has published several works of nonfiction, children’s literature and recordings, including the Emmy-award nominated The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection (2004). Giovanni also released a documentary, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, available for viewing on HBOMax. A frequent lecturer and reader, Giovanni has taught at Rutgers University, Ohio State University, and Virginia Tech.
Please note that all Busboys and Poets Book events are hosted with a first-come, first-serve seating policy. If you do not arrive within 15 minutes of the program's start time, we consider that a forfeit of your ticket and will give that seat to other community member(s).
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of Nikki Giovanni’s works will be available for purchase- this includes LOVE POEMS, PROSAIC SOUL OF NIKKI GIOVANNI, I AM LOVED, and many, many more! Please note that this event is in person and will be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
Nikki Giovanni, poet, activist, mother, and professor, is a seven-time NAACP Image Award winner and the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award, and holds the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry, among many other honors. The author of twenty-eight books and a Grammy nominee for The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, she is the University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.
