Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni has evolved as writer; naturalist and a modernist later. Naturalism was a literary movement that was taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. Giovanni shows naturalism in her works "Poem (No Name No. 2)", and “[Untitled] (For Margaret Danner)”. Just to give a little background on modernism,
Modernism is when writers proclaimed a new "subject matter" for literature and the writer feels that its new way of looking at life required a new form, a new way of writing. The writers of this period tend to pursue more experimental and usually more highly individualistic forms of writing. Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni was born June 7, 1943. She is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Nikki Giovanni is one of the best-known African-American poets who reached distinction during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her unique and insightful poetry testifies to her own evolving awareness and experiences: from child to young woman, from naive college freshman to seasoned civil rights activist, from daughter to mother. Frequently anthologized, Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride and respect for family. Her poems are easy to read and understand and her work is capable of reaching an audience regardless of age, race, gender, or social class.
In these first works, her motives are clear: the importance of raising awareness about the rights of African-Americans: the first three collections of poems, Black Feeling, Black Talk (1968), Black Judgment (1968), and Re: Creation (1970), her content was urgently revolutionary and suffused with deliberate interpretation of experience through a black consciousness. Giovanni’s first three volumes of poetry were enormously
Nikki Giovanni has evolved as writer; naturalist and a modernist later. Naturalism was a literary movement that was taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. Giovanni shows naturalism in her works "Poem (No Name No. 2)", and “[Untitled] (For Margaret Danner)”. Just to give a little background on modernism,
Modernism is when writers proclaimed a new "subject matter" for literature and the writer feels that its new way of looking at life required a new form, a new way of writing. The writers of this period tend to pursue more experimental and usually more highly individualistic forms of writing. Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni was born June 7, 1943. She is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Nikki Giovanni is one of the best-known African-American poets who reached distinction during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her unique and insightful poetry testifies to her own evolving awareness and experiences: from child to young woman, from naive college freshman to seasoned civil rights activist, from daughter to mother. Frequently anthologized, Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride and respect for family. Her poems are easy to read and understand and her work is capable of reaching an audience regardless of age, race, gender, or social class.
In these first works, her motives are clear: the importance of raising awareness about the rights of African-Americans: the first three collections of poems, Black Feeling, Black Talk (1968), Black Judgment (1968), and Re: Creation (1970), her content was urgently revolutionary and suffused with deliberate interpretation of experience through a black consciousness. Giovanni’s first three volumes of poetry were enormously
Cited: Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson. 1865 to the Present. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. Print. Giovanni, Nikki. Black Judgement. Detroit, MI: Distributed by Broadside, 1968. Print Giovanni, Nikki. The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni. New York: William Morrow and, 1996. Print. Juhasz, Suzanne. JSTOR. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Nikki Giovanni.”: The Poetry Foundation. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. < "Realism and Naturalism." Ed. Dr. DoCarmo 's. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Robinson, Anna T. Nikki Giovanni: From Revolution to Revelation. Columbus: State Library of The New York Times. The New York Times. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.