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Well-known poet, educator, public speaker, and author Nikki Giovanni has sadly passed away at age 81. Giovanni’s work was known for discussing topics from race and social issues, space travel, mortality, and children’s literature. Many people recognized Giovanni as one of the greatest Black poets of our time.
Giovanni was a Fisk University alumna. Following in her grandfather’s footsteps, she entered the university as an early entrant, meaning she enrolled in college without graduating high school. She graduated in 1967 with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. After she graduated from Fisk, Giovanni briefly attended the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia University School of the Arts to pursue master's degrees in both social work and poetry. In addition to her being an HBCU graduate, she had other connections to HBCUs.
She was an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her book, “A Poetic Equation: Conversations Between Nikki Giovanni and Margaret Walker,” was published in 1974 by the Howard University Press. Which was the first Black university press in the U.S.? Most recently she hosted Virginia State University’s second Triennial James Arthur Baldwin International Symposium as the artist-in-residence.
Her career as an educator began in 1969 when she began teaching at Livingston College of Rutgers University. Years later she would begin teaching creative writing and literature at Virginia Tech, where she taught until December 2022. During her time at Virginia Tech, she earned the title of University Professor Emerita.
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Before her death, Giovanni had written over 25 books, several collections of poetry, and nonfiction essays that contributed to the Black Power Movement. Her poetry collections, such as Black Judgement and Black Feeling Black Talk, which sold thousands of copies, helped her further her career as a poet and gain recognition from several television programs, including the Tonight Show. Her bodies of work earned her several awards, including the Library of Virginia’s Literary Lifetime Achievement Award, the Maya Angelou Lifetime Achievement Award, induction in the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, and many others.
Most recently, Giovanni was the subject of the 2023 documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson. The documentary explores Giovanni’s life and the historical eras she experienced, including the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Arts Movement. It was narrated by fellow HBCU alumna Taraji P. Henson.
Giovanni was diagnosed with lung cancer in the early 1990s and battled with the disease on and off throughout the remainder of her life. She died yesterday due to complications from the lung cancer with her partner Virginia “Ginney” Fowler by her side.
