She prepared us for this moment.
Literary legend, your icon's favorite icon, prolific poet and profound professor, educator emerita, Afrofuturist, write just for the righteous, muse of muses, and avid practitioner of "thug life," simply fearless! Nikki, thank you for using your words to help us all see, be, and reflect the beauty in all of us. Despite the immense amount of preparation you shared with us through your words and writings, to imagine a world without your physical presence, none of us were ready to come to the realization...
I had the pleasure of being in the presence of Nikki Giovanni a few times; however, the two I vaguely remember were during the late 1990's while pursuing my bachelor's degree at Virginia State University. On September 10, 2022, Ms. Sharleka Ashton - Virginia Black Lifestyle Magazine Advisory Board Member and I had the blessed fortune of arriving early for the "Women's Leadership in Democracies" event at University of Lynchburg, where I was afforded the opportunity to have an engaging conversation with the Literary Legend about everything under the sun! Her fish passed that day, so I learned all about her fish, we discussed: life, retirement (she had just retired the week prior), poetry, my goals and more. When legends speak, you stoop on the floor and allow them to pour into you whatever they wish. Like a child...or a student listening to a master teacher, I was hanging onto her every word; inspired by her sheer brilliance and motivated to take the necessary steps toward my five-year plan after our delightful conversation.
She went on to captivate a packed house as she delivered her keynote speech that crisp, rainy autumn afternoon. I was fortunate to also meet her life-partner, Professor Emerita Virginia Fowler, and the founder of Furious Flower & Wintergreen Women Writers Collective, Dr. Joanne Gabbin during this event. I held the door for Nikki and Virginia as they were leaving and chatting about adjusting their raincoats, something about this warmed my heart! I held the door for them and snapped a photo of them walking away because they were just that adorable!
She shared two poems with the audience that day, "Ego Tripping" and "Quilts." I will be sharing The Virginia Black Lifestyle Magazine's recordings of those poems with you, reader:
When a giant dies, the world cries.
Tremendous grievance comes from being in receipt of an extraordinary gift. The world cries, because your gift has touched the world and we grieve all that you gave us, that we will miss. But tomorrow...we rejoice.
Your words, your writing, your impact will live on!
Thank you to her family and loved ones for sharing her with the world.
Thank you, Nikki!
Comments