Poet reflects on past, hopeful of future
By KIFLIN TURNER
Associate News Editor
As outspoken today as she was in the civil rights era, poet Nikki Giovanni captivated her audience Saturday with edgy humor and witty storytelling.
And for attendants expecting the average poetry reading, they were certainly amiss. Addressing the audience as though everyone were all lifelong friends, she invited them into her heart and mind as she would her own home.
Outpours of laughter and spontaneous cheering emerged from the crowd as she spoke of her own life's story, as a mother, and about her recent bout against cancer.
Giovanni voiced her support of the Mars probe and the similarity between the journey into space and that of the plight of Africans during the Middle Passage journey.
"I know that the trip to Mars has only one precedent," said Giovanni. "The trip to Mars can only be understood through Black Americans."
Introducing her poem, "Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: We're Going to Mars," Giovanni described the qualities of traversing without certainty.
The psychological trip to another planet is much like the unnerving distress and hardship experienced by slaves as they left their own, familiar homes to an unknown destination. With their lives torn apart, they managed to hold on to their own sense of humanity said Giovanni.
"Black Americans were the only people on earth taken somewhere they had no idea where they were going," she said. "But they made the decision to be human."
The Mars probe would change the way we look at space as well as discovering how human beings behave with no known landmarks, she said.
"I don't know anything as important in the 21st century than going to Mars," she said. "We're going to Mars because it gives us a reason to change."
The time to explore is now, said Giovanni.
"It is very important to know your moment. If you don't know your moment, you're always going to be lost," said Giovanni. The experience should be universally shared she said.
"I believe in what I call the 10 percent solution. Every tenth person should know someone who's been to space." Bringing the past and future together with the parallels between the slave trade and the disorientation that goes along with space travel, Giovanni brought her talk back down to earth in the present day.
Pointing to the hip-hop culture and rap music as a movement to bring the youth to the forefront in actualizing change, Giovanni revealed a tattoo — "Thug Life," as a testament to her faith in the power of song.
"[The slaves] decided to fight a war with song," said Giovanni, much like today's generation speaks through hip-hop and rap she said.
If Martin Luther King were alive today, Giovanni announced with confidence that he would have braids.
Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of King's death Giovanni read, "This Is a Sacred Poem" on the struggle of leaders in the black community.
"It would be great to have Martin's voice speak for peace," said Giovanni. For those who voice skepticism about the future, she advised offered hope and inspiration.
"There is everything to be done— the world is opening," she said.
Infused with political and social commentary, Giovanni's anecdotes ranged from protecting social justice to animal rights.
Giovanni pointed to the blatant hypocrisy of Notre Dame alumna and U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice as well as President Bush for supporting affirmative action given their own, respective legacy status as college students.
She described her quest to promote awareness throughout her neighborhood about the unnecessary "murder" of squirrels as hurried drivers run them down.
Through her fight against cancer, she noted how watching a family of robins build a nest gave her peace and helped her recovery in her poem entitled, "A Robin's Nest in Snow."
About the irresponsibility of society when it comes to the environment, her observations are filled with scorn.
"We're glad Earth won't put us on trial — who would vote for us, water?" said Giovanni. "Human beings need to get their lives together."
Giovanni is currently a professor of English at Virginia Tech, and has been named Woman of the Year by Ebony, and Mademoiselle. She is also the recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage award, NAACP Image Award and the Langston Hughes Award for Distinguished Contributions to Arts and Letters.
All News Stories for Monday, February 10, 2003
