Gemini: An Extended Autobiographical Statement on My First Twenty-five Years of Being a Black Poet

Nikki Giovanni

Penguin Books, 1976 - African American poets - 149 pages

In the lyrical, irreverent, and tough-talking voice that resounds in her poetry, Nikki Giovanni explores one of the most tumultuous periods of our history. Her essays take us from her childhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, through her work in the militant Black revolution of the sixties, to her emergence as an acclaimed poet. Interweaving warm recollections of her personal history -- the enduring strengths of her family, the birth of her child, the rewards of writing -- with incisive vignettes of cultural and political history, including her often surprising opinions of LeRoi Jones, Angela Davis, Lena Horne, Stokeley Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, and many others. Giovanni chronicles the changing moods of society as she reveals the inner and outer worlds of a Black woman in twentieth-century America. -- From publisher's description.

Contents

• Mulvaney Street: 3
• For a FourYearOld: 13
• On Being Asked What Its Like to Be Black: 24

About the author

Nikki Giovanni is one of the most prominent black poets of her generation. Born on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tenn., she graduated from Fisk University and later studied at Columbia University. Giovanni creates strongly written poems to convey messages of love, frustration, alienation, and the black experience. She gained national fame with the publication of Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgement in 1970. Full of the spirit of the black community during this era, her works captured the anger and frustration of many of its members. Giovanni has been the recipient of grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ford Foundation. She has taught English at Rutgers University, Ohio State University, and Queens College and has given frequent poetry readings. She is also known for several sound recordings of her poetry, including Truth Is On Its Way. She has also been a Professor of English at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Gemini: An Extended Autobiographical Statement on My First Twenty-five Years of Being a Black Poet; Penguin Books
• Author: Nikki Giovanni
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Penguin Books, 1976
• ISBN: 0140042644, 9780140042641
• Length: 149 pages