Nikki+Giovanni


 * Nikki Giovanni **

Alex A. Amanda Johanna


 * Born: Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni, in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 7, 1943.
 * Education: Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, 1960–61, 1964–67
 * She grew up in Lincoln Heights in an all-black suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. [[image:thepoetryplace/Nikki_Giovanni.gif width="238" height="187" align="right" caption="A book written by Nikki Giovanni about her childhood."]]
 * She had one sister.
 * She published her first book in 1968.
 * She has spoken poetry CDs published.
 * She was a finalist for a Grammy Award for her poetry album.
 * She has written over 30 books for both children and adults.
 * She is a professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia
 * One of her books reached number one on Amazon for the poetry category.
 * Established the Cincinnati Black Arts Festival in 1967.

media type="file" key="Nikki Giovanni video 6.wmv" width="300" height="300" align="center"

= Ego Tripping = = By: Nikki Giovanni =

I was born in the Congo walked to the Fertile Crescent and built the Sphinx designed a pyramid so tough that a star that only glows every one hundred years falls into the center giving divine perfect light I am bad

I sat on the throne drinking nectar with Allah My oldest daughter is Nefertiti the tears from my birth pains created the Nile I am a beautiful woman

I gazed on the forest and burned out the Sahara desert with a packet of goat's meat and a change of clothes I crossed it in two hours I am a gazelle so swift so swift you can't catch me

For a birthday present when he was three I gave my son Hannibal an elephant He gave me Rome for mother's day My strength flows ever on

My son Noah built new/ark and I stood proudly at the helm as we sailed on a soft summer day I turned myself into myself and was Jesus men intone my loving name All praises All praises I am the one who would save

I sowed diamonds in my back yard My bowels deliver uranium the filings from my fingernails are semi-precious jewels On a trip north I caught a cold and blew My nose giving oil to the Arab world

I am so hip even my errors are correct I sailed west to reach east and had to round off the earth as I went The hair from my head thinned and gold was laid across three continents

I am so perfect so divine so ethereal so surreal I cannot be comprehended except by my permission

I mean...I...can fly like a bird in the sky... Citations:
 * " Nikki Giovanni." 2011. Biography.com 03 Dec 2011, 04:09 []
 * Paul, Jay S. "Giovanni, Nikki." Contemporary Poets. Ed. Thomas Riggs. 7th ed. Detroit: St. James Press, 2001. 422-423. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.
 * Media Assassin. //Nikki Giovanni//. 2009. Photograph. Media Assassin. []
 * Nikki Giovanni. __The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni.__University Press of Mississippi: New York, 1996.
 * The Book Depository. //Ego Tripping//. 1993. Photograph. The Book Depository
 * //Jesus En Ti Confio//. Photograph. //Artelista.com//. Web. 15 Dec. 2001. .
 * "Biography.com." //Nikki Giovanni Biography//. Biography.com, 2007. Web. 12 Dec 2011. [].
 * //Vainpot, Princess Jeanie//. Photograph. //Www.shootingellie.blogspot.com//. 20 May 2009. Web. 15 Dec. 2001. [].
 * //Blowing His Nose//. 2006. Photograph. //Http://www.loridelozier.com//. Aug. 2007. Web. 15 Dec. 2001. .