Experience--Nikki Giovanni

Waiting for Nikki

Walked slowly-quickly, determined 

Recommended your collection

Questions void of quick answers


Our Redeemer Lives


Weather delay

I'll spend my time dreaming

Dreaming of Black boys
Show the world what it means
To wear Black skin on the inside

Cough up cookie crumbs long stuck in my throat
More proud

More hopeful


Black value is not external

If they see me now Become
My world opaque to light
Never focusing on the robes we possess
If they respeak yesterdays

Suburbia Lake wood -- unbending

Heroes at 2802 – Hard wick -- unbending
Hate flattened then sealed we’ll come for you


Walk my road

Look into another mans eyes knowing 

"heard"
 the Lord himself whispers in my ear


Polite nods
shaded smiles

The windows are thrown open fully

Revealing
Rightly spoken

Cheater????

One of my sons kind of calls himself a poet... maybe more of a lyricist than anything else. I told him I struggle with writing things that rhyme. I said I had this new plan where I've been writing down words that I feel rhyme. I told him that when I worked on my rhyming poems I can sit down and go through my rhyming words.

So! I learned something. My son said, "Hmm I just go to http://rhymzone.com" Wow, how did I miss this little gem. Then I got to thinking about it and I wondered if using a site like this is cheating or is it much like using a dictionary or thesaurus? I'm worried about how much I might depend on technology to help me write a rhyming poem. It's tempting to go crazy at this site. Or as usual, am I just the last to know?

Nothing Like Stopping Time

I got an email today from my advisor (I think) and he indicated Nikki Giovanni will be speaking on January 24th at the Morrison Center. Then there is little ole me, sitting at my desk knowing nothing about Nikki Giovanni. The email gave the dust jacket version of information about her. I figured since she was listed as a poet that perhaps I should see if anything was in our library. To our library's credit we have several books bearing her name. I had my little list made out of books I wanted to look at but figured the one titled, The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni would get me familiar enough with her work.

I am telling you I do not live under a rock... I am a student in Boise. How did I not realize who this woman was and that her work inspired me from the first page I opened the book to. You know I should not beat myself up so much about not knowing 'Black' poets. I never started out on this one woman revolution to change the way black, brown, purple, green and all other colors are treated in Idaho. I did not wake up one day and say to myself, "I think I will step out of the shower and share my voice with others." Other people started this mess with me. Other people called me and my babies Nigger. I did not walk around asking people to refer to me as a nigger, negress, colored or anything else that makes the hairs prickle on the back of my neck.

Where I am going with this is Nikki Giovanni's early work is killer. She makes references to the BLF and speaks of homemade bombs and radical change. Her voice speaks from back in the day. She calls for radical change from government and people of that late 1960s early 1970s. I do not condone violent upheaval in todays world. I do call on the non-traditional Idahoans to raise radical voices for change. Take your written and spoken voice beyond the classrooms and into the streets to demand change here, in this state.

I almost wet my pants via "Black Flame" or the proud inward fire from my culture. I speak acceptable black girl, I know this. But many people know nothing about who I am and where I came from. I'm all over the place here. I think I vaguely recall one of the Def Poetry Jams and Nikki Giovanni came on and I was transfixed by her but did not realize that her collection would change my life today.

Need More Readings Fast!

Here are a couple of ideas for you. Don't forget tonight there is a reading at Satchel's Grill. Since there is no school next week there is also an event coming up on Monday. I've never been to one of these but anything is worth trying once right?

Monday, November 19
The Spoken Word Reading and Workshop Series presents Denise Jolly and Ryler Dustin! Bring your own poetry to workshop at 5:00 at BSU, then come to the slam to see the full feature.
-- Workshop with Denise Jolly and Ryler Dustin!
BSU Student Union Building (Alexander room)
5 PM, free
-- BOISE POETRY SLAM with Denise Jolly and Ryler Dustin!
The Funny Bone
405 S. 8th St.
Signups 7:30, Show at 8, $5
-- Feature by Denise Jolly and Ryler Dustin and open slam!

http://boisepoetry.com/calendar.htm

A few words about Tuesday

I guess I should apologize if anyone felt uncomfortable with my poetry on Tuesday. I try to keep it simple and I did not intend to offend anyone with my workshop poem. I got to thinking about it and the teacher did ask me to discuss it after class. I guess I knew where I was coming from when I wrote it and as the writer, I felt it was relatively 'safe.' If anyone took it a different way then I am quite sorry.

It goes to show you that there is something to the audience question. How focused should we be on audience? I try not to write for workshop audience and I don't think that anyone else in our 'classroom community' does. I think we all stick to what is important to us and so what if... seems to be our attitude. I feel like this is a good thing. With that being said I still must apologize to anyone who was offended by my poem.

Gosh, I am almost at a loss for words. I know this is not a place to talk about 'workshop' exactly but I think what I am going to say is safe enough. Ivy mentioned that she didn't feel the first six lines of my last poem we workshopped meshed with the rest of the poem. I find that interesting that she said that because I talked to Dustin Lapray about a month ago and we talked about some of the things that we felt were our poem problems. I told him that I had problems with my own first few lines and he gave me some good advise. Dustin told me that he sometimes struggled with the same issue and that he finds that he often finds a better beginning further down in his poems and ends up cutting his first lines out. I loved this advice. I've been trying to do this in my own work.

This is an interesting concept that we cut out those first lines we've penned. I think the first lines woes are the last bit of holdover from our 'essay' nature.

Readable Things

If you haven't had time to read Emily's response to the post on poem 10 she clears up my blue question.

I think William Carlos Williams is going to be an enjoyable read. I thumbed through the book a little and stopped on page 113. I found such wonderful words.

Fire burns; that is the first law.
When a wind fans it the flames

are carried aboard. Talk
is a fire and not only of the blood.

The writing is nothing, the being
in a position to write (that's

where they get you) is nine tenths
of the difficulty: seduction

or strong arm stuff. The writing
should be a relief,

relief from the conditions
which as we advance become--a fire,

a destroying fire. For the writing
is also an attack and means must be


This poem continues on but I was drawn in immediately by what I was reading. I wanted to read more. I think this weeks readings are going to be pleasant and a wonderful break from vile, depressing Berryman.

Just Me & Berryman: Should I Be Scared?

Okay so I am a complete chick, chick, chicken. Jodi gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about Poem 10 of Berryman and I froze again. I have to address this or else I will drive myself crazy for not talking about it in class. Let's just call this the bonus edition from class then, shall we.

I find Berryman's Poem 10 so disturbing. If you get a chance please read it again because I feel like it talks about a lynching. Take a look at the picture and also go to the website http://www.withoutsanctuary.org/main.html I feel like you can really get perspective if you at least look at the photo I included and then reread Poem 10. This poem and photo are disturbing. Besides leaving a very bad taste in my head I also began to question why Berryman would include this written image in the book? What is the significance, what is the reason for including it?

My big question though shifted to what other images are in this poetry that I am missing. Once I deciphered this image I started going back and looking for others. I went through them with widget and dictionary.com at my fingertips looking for images missed. Berryman creates a word web that I don't think I can completely explore in just three weeks. I want to know why Berryman is using the 'blackface' idea for the text. What is the significance of this? So many questions, so little time.

My last question, I promise! What is with the fascination with the color blue? Emily's poetry and our discussion in class really got me thinking about the color blue and nature. We find the color blue in the sky and water but where else in nature can we discover the color blue? How often is blue a color that we associate in our environment?