The Latest Breaking News from Nikki Giovanni

They say never meet your heroes, but I met this architect of Black joy in 2017 and learned an important life lesson

The poet, who died at 81 on Monday, was a leading figure of the Black Arts movement, writing at the intersection of love, creativity, gender, race and more

There was a directness and urgency in her spoken and written voice but she could be mischievous and funny too

Nikki Giovanni, the poet, author, educator and public speaker who rose from borrowing money to release her first book to decades as a literary celebrity sharing her takes on everything from racism and love to space travel and mortality, has died