According to local media on Tuesday, award-winning American poet Nikki Giovanni, a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement, passed away at the age of 81 following a protracted fight with cancer.
Giovanni is widely recognized as one of the most prolific African-American poets. Her work on racial, gender, and civil rights problems earned her multiple honors and a Grammy nomination.
According to the media, Giovanni, whose most well-known poems were “Knoxville, Tennessee” and “Nikki-Rosa,” passed away after receiving a third cancer diagnosis.
In a statement to CNN, her friend and colleague writer Renee Watson stated she “died peacefully on December 9, 2024, with her life-long partner, Virginia (Ginney) Fowler, by her side.”
Poet Kwame Alexander told US media, “We will always be thankful for the unselfish time she gave us to all her literary children across the writerly world.”
Black literature and culture were promoted by authors such as Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Audre Lorde during the Black Arts Movement, which lasted from 1965 to 1974.
Giovanni wrote about her lengthy battle with lung cancer, her early years spent in Tennessee and Ohio, and her advocacy for civil rights and Black people.
In her statement, Watson said, “As one of the cultural icons of the Black Arts and Civil Rights Movements, she inspired generations of students, artists, activists, musicians, scholars, and human beings, young and old, and became friends with Rosa Parks, Aretha Franklin, James Baldwin, Nina Simone, and Muhammad Ali.”
Giovanni went on to teach literature and creative writing at Virginia Tech. He was honored with other honors, such as the Langston Hughes Award for Distinguished Contributions to Arts and Letters, the Rosa Parks Award, and the NAACP Image Award.
The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection was nominated for a Grammy in 2004 for Best Spoken Word Album.
Giovanni stated in a succinct biography on her website: “I knew that one book does not make a writer, but I wanted to be a writer who dreams, or perhaps a dreamer who writes.”
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