in memoriam

“I mean . . . I . . . can fly
    like a bird in the sky . . .”

            —Nikki Giovanni
(June 7, 1943–December 9, 2024)

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Nikki Giovanni on Monday, December 9.

Giovanni authored numerous collections including Black Judgment (Broadside Press, 1969) and Black Feeling, Black Talk (Harper Perennial, 1968). Her honors include the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Dedication and Commitment to Service in 2009.

Read more about Giovanni, including poems:

“Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)”
“A Journey”
“Resignation”
 

from our archive

A flyer advertising Nikki Giovanni’s reading at the Countee Cullen Library on August 22, 1972, as part of the Black Poetry Festival.

“Yesterday and To-morrow,” by Paul Laurence Dunbar

“The Discount Mega Mall (in memoriam),” Eve L. Ewing

“Driving to Work is a Spiritual Experience,” Emily Kendal Frey

“We All Return to the Place Where We Were Born,” Oscar Gonzalez

“Ode to Kool-Aid,” Marcus Jackson

“Farmers Market,” Claudia Castro Luna

“The Sky Over My Mother’s House, ”
Jaime Manrique

“iced out chain from the beauty supply by Halsted Indoor Mall,” Nate Marshall

“My Sadness,” Campbell McGrath

“Souvenir,” Edna St. Vincent Millay

“Traces,” Matthew Shenoda

pick of the week

Join the New England Poetry Club for a discussion and reading with the five New England State poets laureate: Julia Bouwsma (ME), who is also a 2024 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow; Antoinette Brim-Bell (CT); Colin Channer (RI); Jennifer Militello (NH); and Bianca Stone (VT). Sunday, December 15, 3 to 5 p.m. ET. Free and online.

Deadline Extended: Lambda Literary’s Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices

The application deadline for the 2025 virtual writers retreat has been extended to January 2, 2025. Apply here. (Sponsored)

poet laureate fellowship

Applications to the 2025 Poet Laureate Fellowship program are now open.

To amplify the essential role poets laureate play in local and state communities throughout the U.S., while recognizing that poets are at the forefront of championing free expression and cultural understanding, the Poet Laureate Fellowships come with a $50,000 stipend and are made possible with thanks to the Mellon Foundation. Eligible laureates can apply by February 24.

translation prizes

Submissions are now open for the 2025 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award, a $1,000 prize that recognizes a poetry collection translated from any language into English and published in 2024, and the 2025 Raiziss/de Palchi Book Prize, a $10,000 prize given for the translation into English of a significant work of modern Italian poetry. Submit by February 15.