Acolytes
Poems
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
Startling and original, prescient and illuminating, here is a new collection from the poet who has become an icon. . . .
“The work of Nikki Giovanni has been as evolutionary as it has been revolutionary. One of the finest poets of our time. . . Her work still resonates.”—Ebony
"If there was a need for poetry that galvanized and inspired, there was also a demand for poetry that comforted and unified — and Ms. Giovanni provided on both counts." — The Washington Post
Across stirring poems and candid essays, Giovanni confronts history, memory, and hope:
Black History and the Civil Rights Movement: Unflinching poems that bear witness to the lives of Rosa Parks and Emmett Till, exploring the struggles and triumphs that define the American story.Tributes to Black Artists: Powerful invocations for icons like Nina Simone and June Jordan, celebrating the voices that shaped generations of art and activism.Family and Memory: Tender, intimate reflections on mothers and grandmothers, capturing the quiet strength and enduring love that anchor a life.Unflinching Social Commentary: Giovanni’s signature voice, sharp and prescient, cuts through the noise to confront injustice, challenge hypocrisy, and demand a better world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The extraordinarily popular Giovanni got that way as a black militant during the 1970s, known for her inspirational, fiery live and recorded performances. This first volume since her 2003 Collected Poems loses the fire but keeps the inspiration: "Poetry says No to destruction and Yes to possibility," Giovanni declares. Her mix of lineated and prose poetry says yes over and over to the glories of children and grandmothers, to "the men with hopes and dreams and talents," as well as to the memory of the African-American cultural heroes who died in the last few years. Many pages are, in effect, orations: "We will miss June Jordan. For her courage, her insight, her love of us all. We will miss this poet." Some of the strongest and most detailed works are short, not especially lyrical, pieces in prose. One remembers meeting Gwendolyn Brooks; another shows a grandmother's strong support for Virginia Tech Hokies football. Giovanni's most serious verse and prose link her own struggles as a black woman, as a latter-day icon, as a cancer survivor, as a teacher to the larger patterns of black American history, of striving toward freedom always: "I choose always as best I can to keep truth and compassion in my life."
