Writer, poet and activist Nikki Giovanni spoke at the Student Center Ballroom last Wednesday about a multitude of issues. Giovanni read several of her poems to the audience and held a book signing after the lecture. The last time Giovanni came to Eastern Michigan University was in 2002 as part of the former Spectrum Lecture Series.
Giovanni was introduced by EMU sophomore A.J. McLittle, who said, “Poetry saved my life, and in particular Nikki Giovanni.”
McLittle was recently featured in an article in the Detroit Free Press that talked about his life growing up in Detroit and how he has turned his life around through poetry. McLittle read a poem he wrote entitled “Sellouts,” which received a standing ovation from the crowd.
During her lecture, Giovanni gave her opinions on many current events and political topics. She pointed out that she believes President Obama has spent too much time trying to cooperate with Republicans since taking office instead of following through with his campaign promises.
She simply said, “They didn’t like him when he was running and they don’t like him now, either.”
Giovanni also expressed her view of the healthcare bill Congress passed in March 2010 and said, “This is the Republicans’ bill.” She half-jokingly went on to say, “It covers Viagra, but there is no coverage for abortion, when Viagra is 100 percent cause of the need for abortion,” which prompted many laughs from the audience.
She also spoke about the need for alternative energy sources and more concern for the environment.
“Instead of seeing all the vacant lots in Detroit, why don’t we plant gardens?”
Giovanni, who is an English professor at Virginia Tech University as well as being an author and poet, talked briefly about her former student, Michael Vick.
“Michael, you can’t fight dogs baby! Everyone has cell phones and camera phones today, so they can see whatever you’re doing, and if you are lucky the worst thing that happens is it ends up on Facebook.”
She concluded her lecture by reading some of her poems including “I’m a native Tennessean,” which is about her state of birth and the state in which she attended college. She joked about being from Tennessee throughout the poem and said, “I was born in Knoxville, but if I was born in Memphis I would probably be a blues singer.”
Giovanni’s latest book, “Bicycles: Love Poems,” was written because of the tragedies that occurred in her life, including family hardships as well as the school shooting that took place at Virginia Tech in which 32 students were killed on April 19, 2007.
Giovanni explained why she chose to write a collection of love poems by saying, “Love Poems are the best way to feel better about tragedy because they always make you smile.”
Those in attendance for Giovanni’s lecture gave standing ovations following the readings of each of her poems, and at the closing of her performance she was presented with an Eastern Michigan jersey and named “honorary Eagle for a day.”
Chris Epps, a freshman in attendance, said, “I don’t read poetry very often, but I heard about Nikki Giovanni through my mom, and it was really good. She just has a real message and makes you laugh and makes you think at the same time. Her style is different from the typical poems you read in English class.”
Since writing her first book in 1968, “Black Feeling, Black Talk,” Giovanni has written more than 30 books, and received numerous awards for poetry and fiction. She is the recipient of 20 honorary degrees from national colleges and universities, and has been given keys to more than a dozen cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and New Orleans.
Recently, Giovanni was also named one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 “Living Legends.”
