An evening with Nikki Giovanni Thursday, February 9, 2006 7:30pm, Beckman Auditorium, Caltech This event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required. Listen to the MP3 audio of this event. (~40 MB)

Biography

Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni, Jr., born in Knoxville, Tennessee, is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the most widely read American poets, she prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." Giovanni remains as determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality. Always insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it, she has maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black community.

Nikki Giovanni has written more than two dozen books, including volumes of poetry, illustrated children's books, and three collections of essays. She has received 21 honorary doctorates and a host of other awards, including "Woman of the Year" awards from three different magazines as well as Governors' Awards in the Arts from both Tennessee and Virginia. Her three most recent volumes of poetry, Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes and Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, were winners of the NAACP Image Award, in 1998, 2000, and 2003. Since 1987, she has taught writing and literature at Virginia Tech, where she is a University Distinguished Professor. The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, a spoken-word CD, was a finalist for the 2003 Grammy Award in the category of spoken word.

For more information about Nikki Giovanni, go to her website: http://nikki-giovanni.com/.