the craft. nikki giovanni.

“I like to tell the truth as I see it. I hope others do the same. That’s why literature is so important. We cannot possibly leave it to history as a discipline nor to sociology nor science nor economics to tell the story of our people.” - Nikki Giovanni, Black Women Writers (Edited by Mari Evans)

I’d heard the name much earlier than I saw the figure. There was something that sang about the name Nikki Giovanni. It was smooth, cool, like leather, like lace. When I finally put the name to a face, I was amazed that the words of a giant could come from such a tiny woman. She was feisty, she was gifted, she was revolutionary, and there was a crack in the planet this past week when she left us to join the ancestors. 

I’ve been reading a lot about her and the critiques of her work, and I realize how little I care for all the talk of craft and language, and how much I care for how her poetry made me feel. I’m no expert on form or execution when it comes to poetry, so I’m sure there may be some valid thoughts, but I know that Nikki Giovanni had the words many of us failed to be able to express. I know that she said the things that many were afraid to say, especially during her ascension in the 60s and 70s. 

We’ve all likely seen the clip of a young Giovanni gagging (hyperbole) the profound James Baldwin in a two-part special series in 1971 when she said of the relationship between Black men and women “... what does the truth matter to me when you lie to everybody else?” and asked “Because I love you, I get least of you?” This was a bright, and angry 28-year-old taking on a titan in thought, and she more than held her own. In their exchange, we see her rebellious nature, her challenging of a system and shared thoughts of that time. 

She has managed to keep herself relevant over decades. One of the last of an era that saw such a renaissance of Black literature, collective power, and voice. In every speech or lecture, she found this way to give us medicine with a dash of humor. It was straight talk in the purist form, but it was also love poems, and words of hope, so important to her connection with the next generation as a professor. One of my favorite poems of hers was “Resignation.” 

As the outpouring of love and support showed up all over social media, I thought to myself, “well done.” I can only hope that my words would have the ability to touch others in some kind of way. And whether we agree or disagree, there is profound respect for the body of work. I don’t get the impression that she was any type of perfect person. If you watched Going to Mars: A Nikki Giovanni Project, you know that at times she may have been hard to love. But aren’t we all, at times? 

Like many women in the Black Arts Movement, at times, her work was diminished. Too popular, the language too plain. But I want to encourage you to show up as whatever writer you want to be. There’s room for every one and every approach to the work. We don’t have to be defined, especially and Black and brown writers by the facade of “great” literature.  

I realize how much of a gift it is to be a writer. So often, we come to the work tortured, trying to validate ourselves, convince ourselves that we should write, and I wonder how our relationship changes when we shift our perspective. Writing is what I get to do, not what I have to do. While Nikki Giovanni is gone in the physical, we are left with all of her words. In that way, poets, writers, you and I, in a sense, will live forever. 

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal

I cannot be comprehended

except by my permission

I mean … I … can fly

Like a bird in the sky …

Ego-Tripping, Nikki Giovanni

Narratively is accepting entries for our 2024 Memoir Prize. We’re on the hunt for revealing and emotional first-person nonfiction narratives from unique and overlooked points of view. Entries will be judged on a rolling basis in four rounds: the first three by experienced Narratively readers and staff, and the final by our incredible and generous guest judge, critically acclaimed writer Jami Attenberg! (Closes Dec. 19th) 

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Ashley M. Coleman