Acolytes

When her work first emerged during the Black Arts Movement, Nikki Giovanni immediately became one of the most highly regarded and controversial poets of the modern age and her popularity continues today as she is celebrated in song, verse, and popular and literary circles.Now this remarkable artist has penned a collection of eighty all-new poems and prose pieces that retain her distinct vision and voice yet mark a change of direction inspired by love, celebration, memories, and even nostalgia. In intimate and spare language, Giovanni offers insight into the powerful elements and forces in her life: family and friends, the deaths of heroes and companions, nature, libraries, and theater. In between, the deep and edgy conscience that has defined her for decades shines through when she writes movingly of Rosa Parks, Hurricane Katrina, and Emmett Till, leaving no doubt that this commanding presence has not traded one approach for another but simply made room for both.