Nikki Giovanni: A strong voice for the Black community Natalia Juan Camilo

Inspired by her grandmother and influenced by the Civil Rights Movement, Nikki Giovanni uses mostly imagery and metaphors to point out issues such as racism and politics, showing the American value of future orientation.grandmotherCivil Rights Movementimagerymetaphorsracism politicsfuture orientation

Inspiration Grandmother: Told Giovanni she was “the best, smartest thing since sliced bread (Collier).” Make her do book reports. Inspired her to start reading and writing. (Collier 22-25) Back to Thesis

Influence Civil Rights and Black Power Movement: Inspired early works collected in: Black Feeling, Black Talk (1967), Black Judgment (1968), and Re: Creation (1970). Back to Thesis

“We Are Virginia Tech” “We are Virginia Tech. We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech. We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again. We are Virginia Tech. We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy. We are Virginia Tech. The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness. We are the Hokies. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.” (Giovanni) Back to Thesis Politics

“We Are Virginia Tech” Back to Thesis Future Orientation “We are Virginia Tech. We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech. We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again. We are Virginia Tech. We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did nothing to deserve it, but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, neither do the invisible children walking the night away to avoid being captured by the rogue army, neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory, neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water, neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy. We are Virginia Tech. The Hokie Nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness. We are the Hokies. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.” (Giovanni)

Imagery Possum Crossing: “Backing out the driveway the car lights cast an eerie glow in the morning fog centering on movement in the rain slick street” Photography: “watching the red sun bleed into the ocean” Knoxville Tennessee: “you can eat fresh corn From daddy's garden And okra And greens And cabbage And lots of Barbeque And buttermilk And homemade ice-cream At the church picnic” Back to Thesis

Metaphors Photography: “the eye we are told is a camera but the film is the heart not the brain” Kidnap Poem: (Extended Metaphor) “if i were a poet i'd kidnap you put you in my phrases and meter” Back to Thesis

Racism Excerpt from Nikki-Rosa: “and I really hope no white person ever has cause to write about me because they never understand Black love is Black wealth and they’ll probably talk about my hard childhood and never understand that all the while I was quite happy” Back to Thesis

Works Cited "Cultural Change: " America - Engaging the World - America.gov. 05 June Web. 12 Feb "Nikki Giovanni." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Academy of American Poets, Web. 12 Feb Becerra, Cynthia S., and Paul Dellinger. "The Poetry of Giovanni." Masterplots II: African American Literature, Revised Edition (2008): 1-4. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 12 Feb Black Power. Photograph. Shook. 17 Oct Web. 20 Feb Civil Rights Movement. Photograph. Luis Anderson. Web. 20 Feb Collier, Andrea King. "Nikki Giovanni: A poetic force." Writer (2005): Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 11 Feb Giovanni, Nikki. "Possum Crossing." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Academy of American Poets, Web. 12 Feb “Photography.” Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Academy of American Poets, Web. 12 Feb "Kidnap Poem." Ego-tripping: And Other Poems for Young People. New York: Lawrence Hill and, Print. --- "Knoxville, Tennessee." Ego-tripping: And Other Poems for Young People. New York: Lawrence Hill and, Print. --- "Nikki-Rosa." Ego-tripping: And Other Poems for Young People. New York: Lawrence Hill and, Print. Giovanni. Photograph. VNN Forum. 19 May Web. 13 Feb Helber, Steve. Nikki Giovanni. Photograph. Syracuse. Laura Ryan, 6 Dec Web. 20 Feb Nikki Giovanni. Photograph. Famous Poets and Poems. Famous Poets and Poems. Web. 17 Feb Nikki Giovanni's Aha! Moment. Photograph. O, The Oprah Magazine. Oprah. Sept Web. 13 Feb Rankine-Galloway, Honora, and Sarah Hilbert. "Nikki Giovanni." Critical Survey of Poetry, Second Revised Edition (n.d.): 1-7. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 12 Feb We Are Virginia Tech. Perf. Nikki Giovanni. Bing. NBC News, 4 Apr Web. 20 Feb Wiedemann, Barbara. "Nikki-Rosa." Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition (n.d.): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 12 Feb