Legendary Poet & Activist Passes Away at 81

(Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images for FLC ) Nikki Giovanni, one of the most famous and recognizable Black poets, has passed away at the age of 81. Giovanni died on Monday, Dec. 9, following her third cancer diagnosis, according to a statement from friend and author Renée Watson. “We will forever be grateful for the unconditional time she gave to us, to all her literary children across the writerly world,” said poet Kwame Alexander in the statement. Giovanni has been published in many poetry anthologies, released several poetry recordings, nonfiction essays, children’s books, and several essays analyzing race, class, sexism, and other social issues. She has been awarded an unprecedented seven NAACP Image Awards, and has been nominated for a Grammy. She has also been a finalist for the National Book Award, and authored three New York Times and Los Angeles Times Best Sellers. Born Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni, Jr., on June 7, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee, Giovanni published her first poetry collection, Black Feeling Black Talk, in 1968. It established her as an emerging figure out of the Black Arts Movement. In it, Giovanni writes about the intersections of love, politics, loneliness and race. Her language is sometimes spare and...