Prince William
Famous Astronauts
Nelson Mandela
Kanye West
My Ghost Story
I Survived
Liberace
Leonardo DiCaprio
Annie Oakley
I Survived
Quick Facts
- NAME: Nikki Giovanni
- OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, Television Personality, Poet
- BIRTH DATE: June 07, 1943 (Age: 70)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Knoxville, Tennessee
- Full Name: Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr.
- ZODIAC SIGN: Gemini
Best Known For
The poems of Nikki Giovanni helped to define the African-American voice of the 1960s, '70s and beyond. She was also a major force in the Black Arts movement.
Quiz
Think you know about Biography?
Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.
Play NowNikki Giovanni. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 07:31, Jun 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-giovanni-9312272.
Nikki Giovanni. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-giovanni-9312272 [Accessed 18 Jun 2013].
"Nikki Giovanni." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 18 2013, 07:31 http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-giovanni-9312272.
"Nikki Giovanni," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-giovanni-9312272 [accessed Jun 18, 2013].
"Nikki Giovanni," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-giovanni-9312272 (accessed Jun 18, 2013).
Nikki Giovanni [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-giovanni-9312272.
Nikki Giovanni, http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-giovanni-9312272 (last visited Jun 18, 2013).
Nikki Giovanni. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/nikki-giovanni-9312272. Accessed Jun 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Nikki Giovanni was born on June 7, 1943, Nikki Giovanni established Cincinnati's first Black Arts Festival in 1967. She published her first book of poems, Black Feeling, Black Talk in 1968.
Contents
Early Life
Poet and writer Nikki Giovanni was born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr., was born on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Giovanni is a prominent poet and writer who first caught the publics attention as part of the Black Arts movement of the late 1960s. Growing up in the Cincinnati area, she often visited Knoxville to see family, especially her maternal grandmother. After graduating with honors from Fisk University in 1967, she returned to Cincinnati and established the city's first Black Arts Festival. Giovanni also began writing the poems that are included in her first self-published volume, Black Feeling, Black Talk (1968).
Popular Poetry
By the mid-1970s, Giovanni had established herself as one of the leading poetic voices. She won a number of awards including Woman of the Year from Ladies Home Journal in 1973. Giovanni also made several television appearances, including the African-American arts and culture show, Soul!. During the 1980s, she continued to publish and spent much of her time touring to attend speaking engagements. Giovanni also found time to teach at College Mount St. Joseph and Virginia Tech University where she still works as a professor.
In recent years, Giovanni has produced several new works. For children, she wrote Jimmy Grasshopper Versus the Ants (2007) and Rosa (2005), a picture book about legendary civil rights figure Rosa Parks. Her latest poetry collection is Acolytes (2007). Also an accomplished writer of nonfiction, Giovanni wrote On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History through the Spirituals (2007).
© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.
profile name: Nikki Giovanni profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Famous Black Writers
View groupThey are the famous African-American writers who have fearlessly examined cultural stigmas, provided intimate life details, presented new ideas and created remarkable fiction through literary works. For their prophetic genius, these men and women have received Pulitzer Prizes, NAACP awards and even Nobel Prizes, among other honors. Our list of prominent African-American authors includes Toni Morrison, who has detailed the lives of black characters who struggle with identity amidst racism and hostility; Langston Hughes, a founder of the Harlem Renaissance; and Maya Angelou, who has eloquently chronicled various eras of her life through her autobiographies.
Famous Black Writers 38 people in this group
-
Famous Geminis 530 people in this group
-
Famous Black Activists
View groupAfrican-Americans have a long history of activism in America, from fighting for the right to vote to pushing for integrated public spaces. Activists like Stokely Carmichael organized freedom rides, James Meredith fought to integrate blacks and whites at the University of Mississippi, and Rosa Parks instigated the Montgomery Bus Boycott. These protests were often legal and nonviolent, and made a powerful impact on civil rights in the United States. With the help of activists like these—and many others—the country slowly worked to acknowledge the basic rights and contributions of African-Americans. Activists outisde of the U.S. include Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, who have fought against apartheid in South Africa. Learn more about the many black activists who fought against the odds in order to achieve equality.
Famous Black Activists 133 people in this group
