Nikki Giovanni

For years the legendary John Seigenthaler hosted A Word on Words on Nashville's public television station, WNPT. During the show’s four-decade run (1972 to 2013), he interviewed some of the most interesting and most impor­tant writers of our time. These in-depth exchanges revealed much about the writers who appeared on his show and gave a glimpse into their creative pro­cesses. Seigenthaler was a deeply engaged reader and a generous interviewer, a true craftsman. Frye Gaillard and Pat Toomay have collected and transcribed some of the iconic interactions from the show. Featuring interviews with: Arna Bontemps • Marshall Chapman • Pat Conroy • Rodney Crowell • John Egerton • Jesse Hill Ford • Charles Fountain • William Price Fox • Kinky Friedman • Frye Gaillard • Nikki Giovanni • Doris Kearns Goodwin • David Halberstam • Waylon Jennings • John Lewis • David Maraniss • William Marshall • Jon Meacham • Ann Patchett • Alice Randall • Dori Sanders • John Seigenthaler Sr. • Marty Stuart • Pat Toomay

An inspiring account of an event that shaped American historyShe had not sought this moment but she was ready for it. When the policeman bent down to ask "Auntie, are you going to move?" all the strength of all the people through all those many years joined in her. She said, "No." Fifty years after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is still one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement. This picture- book tribute to Mrs. Parks is a celebration of her courageous action and the events that followed. Award-winning poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni's evocative text combines with Bryan Collier's striking cut-paper images to retell the story of this historic event from a wholly unique and original perspective. Rosa is a Caldecott Honor Book and the winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.

One of America's most celebrated poets looks inward in this powerful collection, a rumination on her life and the people who have shaped her.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. As energetic and relevant as ever, Nikki now offers us an intimate, affecting, and illuminating look at her personal history and the mysteries of her own heart. In A Good Cry, she takes us into her confidence, describing the joy and peril of aging and recalling the violence that permeated her parents' marriage and her early life. She pays homage to the people who have given her life meaning and joy: her grandparents, who took her in and saved her life; the poets and thinkers who have influenced her; and the students who have surrounded her. Nikki also celebrates her good friend, Maya Angelou, and the many years of friendship, poetry, and kitchen-table laughter they shared before Angelou's death in 2014.

The poetry of Nikki Giovanni has spurred movements, turned hearts and informed generations. She's been hailed as a firebrand, a radical, a courageous activist who has spoken out on the sensitive issues that touch our national consciousness, including race and gender, social justice, protest, violence in the home and in the streets, and why black lives matter. One of America's most celebrated poets looks inward in this powerful collection, a rumination on her life and the people who have shaped her.As energetic and relevant as ever, Nikki now offers us an intimate, affecting, and illuminating look at her personal history and the mysteries of her own heart. In A Good Cry, she takes us into her confidence, describing the joy and peril of aging and recalling the violence that permeated her parents' marriage and her early life. She pays homage to the people who have given her life meaning and joy: her grandparents, who took her in and saved her life; the poets and thinkers who have influenced her; and the students who have surrounded her. Nikki also celebrates her good friend, Maya Angelou, and the many years of friendship, poetry, and kitchen-table laughter they shared before Angelou's death in 2014."If there was a need for poetry that galvanized and inspired, there was also a demand for poetry that comforted and unified -- and Ms. Giovanni provided on both counts." -- The Washington Post

'The Art Album' is an illustrated book celebrating the long-standing relationship between the visual arts and hip-hop music, and is the result of a collaboration between two giants of the American music scene. Dawud Knuckles is a veteran of the record industry in America. In the 1990s, his friends founded the hip-hop record label Ruff Ryders, with whom he worked for many years as a videographer. He has subsequently worked with many recording artists on interviews, special projects, tours, and documentaries for Ruff Ryders. Through his career in the music industry, Dawud has made many influential contacts, including Russell and Danny Simmons, who contributes to the book. The Simmons insightfully explores the themes of a selection of songs and how the subculture of hip-hop relates to, and has influenced contemporary art. Each chapter of the book will have a theme- for example, the theme of one chapter will be New York, and the title of the chapter will be 'Empire State of Mind'- Jay-Z's epic single which peaked within the top in 10 in 10 countries in 2009. Lyrics from the song will be presented beside contemporary art inspired by New York, an exclusive commentary from Russell and Danny Simmons (celebrated artist and philanthropist), and a contextualizing text from legendary writer and activist Nikki Giovanni, as well as other academics. This concept of presenting songs, art, and interviews alongside each other will offer an incomparable insight into the influence that hip-hop has on contemporary culture, and the unrivaled significance that this subculture has risen to. This collaboration between so many big names in music, art and academia is a unique project.

Nikki Giovanni’s extraordinary final collection—a landmark of American literature—speaks to the fury of our current political moment while reflecting on the tragedies and triumphs of her early life.For decades, Nikki Giovanni’s poetry has been at the forefront of American culture. The New Book is a towering work of protest against the divisions of our time, leavened with moments of joy and reflection about her indelible legacy, her family history, and the small pleasures of her richly lived life.In The New Book, Nikki Giovanni slashes at the ridiculousness of our cultural and political climate: “We have no secrets/since the world shrunk/and the icebergs melted/and all the year books/are digitized./… and we press Like/or No Like/as if it mattered.”She remembers 2020 and its cataclysmic reckoning with police brutality and white supremacy: “I do understand that republicans/Are cowards and so are those nazis/Cheering/And those kkk we now call police killing/Not to mention father and sons chasing unarmed Black men/and running their cars into crowds/Pretending they are brave or something/They are not only cowards/And nazis but evil fools/And who go to bed white/Wake up American/And hate themselves for having/To share this earth/They will not overcome/And we will not love them.”But also in the same poem: “But what does 2020 mean to me/A chance to learn to open oysters/Talk to my friends/Catch up on my reading/Tell myself I am going to dust the house/Lie about it/...Enjoy my own company not to mention football/And remember there will be tomorrow/Because there will be/And evil will go and good will come/I am Black/We have seen much worse.”With this collection, which includes brief letters and short prose from her life as well as poetry, Giovanni reaffirms her place as a giant of literature, a canny truth-teller, an indispensable radical orator, and one of America’s preeminent cultural critics. It is a book to be savored, and shared."If there was a need for poetry that galvanized and inspired, there was also a demand for poetry that comforted and unified — and Ms. Giovanni provided on both counts." — The Washington Post

A stunning visual homage to Black bookstores around the country along with profiles and essays that celebrate the history, community, activism, and culture these spaces embody, featuring an original foreword by Nikki Giovanni. Black literature is perhaps the most powerful, polarizing force in the modern American zeitgeist. Today--as Black novels draw authoritarian ire, as Black memoirs shape public debates, as Black polemics inspire protest petitions--it's more important than ever to highlight the places that center these stories: Black bookstores. Traversing teeming metropolises and tiny towns, Prose to the People explores these spaces, chronicling the Black bookstore's past and present lives. Combining narrative prose, eye-catching photography, one-on-one interviews, original essays, and specially curated poetry, Prose to the People is a reader's road trip companion to the world of Black books. Thoughtfully curated by writer and Black bookstore owner Katie Mitchell, Prose to the People is a must-have addition to the shelves of anyone who loves book culture and Black history. A visually rich tribute, this dynamic book centers profiles of over fifty Black bookstores from the Northeast to the mid-Atlantic, the South, and the West Coast, complete with stunning original and archival photography. Interspersed throughout are essays, poems, and interviews by New York Times bestsellers Kiese Laymon, Rio Cortez, Pearl Cleage, and many more journalists, activists, authors, academics, and poets that offer deeper perspectives on these bookstores' role throughout the diaspora. Complete with a foreword by world-renowned poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, Prose to the People is a beautiful tribute to these vital pillars of the Black community.

Early astronomers, drawn to Mars's fiery glow in the night sky, named the planet after their god of war. In the centuries since, Mars has captivated humankind as a source of endless speculation and a beacon of hope for its potential habitability. Through six decades of NASA’s pioneering research missions, the mysteries of the red planet have been gradually uncovered, revealing a world not so unlike our own that likely once supported life.See the earliest close-up images of Mars taken by the Mariner 4 spacecraft in 1965—the first ever captured of another planet—along with historical illustrations from an era when curiosity outpaced scientific progress. Science and art collide as NASA’s later orbiter missions capture aerial views of ancient riverbeds, polar ice caps, dust storms, vast canyons, and towering volcanoes in an endlessly varied landscape. As they traverse Mars’s rugged surface, NASA’s rovers have operated as mechanical extensions of humankind for the past 25 years, drilling holes, searching for traces of water, and marveling at mountain ranges and panoramic sunsets.Through hundreds of cutting-edge photographs from NASA's extensive archives, we join their scientists in the ongoing quest to better understand Mars. Essays by NASA’s former Chief Scientist James L. Green and JPL Chief Engineer Rob Manning provide an in-depth look at the history of Martian exploration and the challenges of preparing for these groundbreaking missions. Captions by planetary scientist Emily Lakdawalla skillfully illuminate each image's content and technical context, and a foreword by renowned poet Nikki Giovanni and an introduction by curator Margaret A. Weitekamp reflect on Mars’s significance in our cultural imagination.From a distant enigma to a tangible frontier whose every grain of sand we can now observe, this volume celebrates the extraordinary progress NASA has made, bringing us closer than ever to understanding our neighboring world.

This year's journal celebrates our guest poet, Natasha Trethewey, a Pulitzer Prize winner who served two terms as the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States. Her poem, "Enlightenment," beautifully echoes this year's theme, "Illuminating the Darkness." The journal includes first-time submitters and acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Poet Laureates Ron Smith, and Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda. The Artemis 2024 cover features the artwork of artist Cynthia Wicks. In the aftermath of the pandemic in March 2020, Cynthia grappled with the question, "How does one create beautiful art in the face of such darkness?" She confessed that she nearly gave up painting due to the profound impact of the pandemic and the political unrest. Despite this, her image, "Jojo's view "captures the emergence of beauty and light. The journal showcases the work of 56 poets and 42 artists from the Blue Ridge Mountains and beyond. Artemis proudly celebrates 48 years of existence as a beacon of resilience by offering a path to healing for our community through poetry and art. Its survival in the rural, conservative southwest corner of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains is a true testament to the power of art and writing. Artemis was born from writing workshops for survivors of intimate partner violence in Southwest Virginia and has been a steadfast champion of social justice since 1977.

A major new career-spanning selection from one of the world’s foremost poets, an international treasure, from 1968 to the present day Nikki Giovanni's poetry has dazzled and inspired readers for more than sixty years. When she first emerged from the Black Arts Movement in the late 1960s, she immediately became one of the most celebrated and controversial poets of the era. Now considered a living legend, this is the first new selection since the late 1990s and offers readers a chance to be introduced to and to celebrate her incredible lifetime's work.Giovanni’s poetry has always been a powerful expression of her ideas about love, race, politics and gender, but part of that power has also been the sensitive and intimate way Giovanni is able to bring to light the heart and soul of herself and her readers. Giovanni's poetry speaks from and to the Black experience, with Black love, Black struggle and Black joy at the centre. Arranged chronologically and spanning the entirety of her career, this selection charts not only the development of a great poet but also of sixty years of American life, bringing together motherhood and revolution, political dreams and great loves, men, women, children and community, and shows Giovanni at her essential, profound best.

THE SWAN SONG by Kaye Graham tells a timeless tale of longing and love. It is a moving story about joy, gratitude, and the seasons of life that reminds us of the one thing that matters most: deep, abiding love, and the expression of the inseparability of love and loss that celebrates the gift of bringing forth beauty from pain.

THE SWAN SONG by Kaye Graham tells a timeless tale of longing and love. It is a moving story about joy, gratitude, and the seasons of life that reminds us of the one thing that matters most: deep, abiding love, and the expression of the inseparability of love and loss that celebrates the gift of bringing forth beauty from pain.

By making the world a more beautiful place, Artemis supports the visions of our artists in a time when we need to write and make art to heal our souls and enrich our communities. Artemis Journal represents the Appalachian region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and is one of the few journals in America that blends art, poetry, and prose throughout its pages. Likewise, it remains a journal that publishes fledgling writers and artists alongside prominent writers such as Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Poet Laureate, Ron Smith, Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, U.S. Poet Laureate, Natasha Trethewey, as well as prominent artists such as Betty Branch, Steven Kenny, and Linda Atkinson. Artemis is a charitable non-profit organization, now 45 years old, and has evolved into an all-inclusive journal with essays, poetry, and art.

In this lyrical picture book, world-renowned poet, New York Times bestselling author, and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Nikki Giovanni and fine artist Erin Robinson craft an ode to the magic of a library as a place not only for knowledge but also for imagination, exploration, and escape.In what other place can a child "sail their dreams" and "surf the rainbow" without ever leaving the room? This ode to libraries is a celebration for everyone who loves stories, from seasoned readers to those just learning to love words, and it will have kids and parents alike imagining where their library can take them.This inspiring read-aloud includes stunning illustrations and a note from Nikki Giovanni about the importance of libraries in her own childhood.

A ground-breaking anthology celebrating Marvel's beloved Black Panther and his home of Wakanda, penned by an all-star cast of authors such as Sheree Renee Thomas and Nikki Giovanni. T'Challa faces the gods of his parents. Vampires stalk Shuri and a Dora Milaje in voodoo-laced New Orleans. Erik Killmonger grapples with racism, Russian spies, and his own origins. Eighteen brand-new tales of Wakanda, its people, and its legacy. The first mainstream superhero of African descent, the Black Panther has attracted readers of all races and colors who see in the King of Wakanda reflections of themselves. Storytellers from across the African Diaspora-some already literary legends, others who are rising stars-have created for this collection original works inspired by the world of the Panther and its inhabitants. With guest stars including Storm, Monica Rambeau, Namor, and Jericho Drumm, these are stories of yesterday and today, of science and magic, of faith and love. These are the tales of a king and his country. These are the legends whispered in the jungle, myths of the unconquered men and women and the land they love. These are the Tales of Wakanda. Featuring stories by Linda D. Addison, Maurice Broaddus, Christopher Chambers, Milton J. Davis, Tananarive Due, Nikki Giovanni, Harlan James, Danian Jerry, Kyoko M., L.L. McKinney, Temi Oh, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Glenn Parris, Alex Simmons, Sheree Renee Thomas, Cadwell Turnbull and Troy L. Wiggins.

For four decades, Artemis Journal, published annually, has showcased compelling new voices with notable authors ranging from poet laureates to Pulitzer Prize and other major award winners and nominees. Artemis has served the Appalachian Region of the Blue Ridge Mountains and beyond for 45 years, with 28 publications as a Literary and Art Journal. The rich history of creativity of Artemis has played an integral role in their success and perseverance of Artemis. The Artemis Journal's mission has not changed from its conception. Borne out of the writing workshops held for the victims of domestic violence in Southwest Virginia, Artemis Journal has been an advocate for social justice since 1977. Artemis has been a bright star that began in a basement at the Roanoke, Virginia YWCA. Artemis supports fair trade policies, artists, and women-based businesses. 10% of earnings are donated to a women's shelter for survivors of intimate partner violence in Southwest Virginia.

One of America’s most celebrated poets challenges us with this powerful and deeply personal collection of verse that speaks to the injustices of society while illuminating the depths of her own heart.For more than fifty years, Nikki Giovanni’s poetry has dazzled and inspired readers. As sharp and outspoken as ever, she returns with this profound book of poetry in which she continues to call attention to injustice and racism, celebrate Black culture and Black lives, and give readers an unfiltered look into her own experiences.In Make Me Rain, she celebrates her loved ones and unapologetically declares her pride in her Black heritage, while exploring the enduring impact of the twin sins of racism and white nationalism. Giovanni reaffirms her place as a uniquely vibrant and relevant American voice with poems such as “I Come from Athletes” and “Rainy Days”—calling out segregation and Donald Trump; as well as “Unloved (for Aunt Cleota)” and “When I Could No Longer”—her personal elegy for the relatives who saved her from an abusive home life.Stirring, provocative, and resonant, the poems in Make Me Rain pierce the heart and nourish the soul.

Artemis Journal is one of the few journals in America that blends art, poetry, and prose throughout its pages. Likewise, it remains one of the few journals that publish fledgling writers and artists alongside prominent writers such as Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Poet Laureates, Luisa Igloria, Ron Smith, Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, U.S. Poet Laureates, Rita Dove, Natasha Trethewey, as well as prominent artists such as Donna Polseno, Betty Branch, and Bill White.Artemis Journal is a charitable non-profit organization, now 44 years old, and has evolved to be an all-inclusive journal with essays, poetry, and art. 15% of our earnings are donated to a women's shelter for abused women in Southwest Virginia.