The complete early work of the renowned African-American poet.
“Nikki Giovanni is one of our national treasures.”—Gloria Naylor
This omnibus includes her first seven volumes of poetry from her early years, 1967 to 1983: Black Feeling Black Talk; Black Judgement; Re: Creation; My House; The Women and the Men; Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day; and Those Who Ride the Night Winds. A timeless classic, it is both a reflection of the changes in her own life and an evocation of a nation’s past and its present.
BIO
Nikki Giovanni has written many books of poetry for children and adults. She is the author of Rosa, a Caldecott Honor book, Lincoln and Douglass, The Genie in the Jar, and Ego-tripping and Other Poems for Young People. Giovanni calls herself, a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English. She was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Lincoln Heights, an all-black suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. She studied at Fisk University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University. She published her first book of poetry, Black Feeling Black Talk, in 1968, and since then has become one of America's most widely read poets. Oprah Winfrey named her as one of her twenty-five "Living Legends." Her autobiography Gemini was a finalist for the National Book Award, and several of her books have received NAACP Image Awards. She has received some twenty-five honorary degrees, been named Woman of the Year by Mademoiselle Magazine, The Ladies Home Journal and Ebony, was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and has been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. Nikki Giovanni lives in Christiansburg, Virginia, where she is a professor of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.
REVIEWS
"Fiery yet personal . . . an ample and diligent introduction, chronology and notes to individual works." -- Publishers Weekly
"One of the finest poets of our time. . . Her work still resonates."--Ebony
"Wise and mischievous, Giovanni is a must-read at every stage if her happily, still growing oeuvre." -- Booklist
"What a powerful first impression she made. This collection of early work is an excellent reminder." -- Library Journal
[P] William Morrow & Company / February 01, 2007
1.19" H x 9.0" L x 6.0" W (1.2 lbs) 512 pages