The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni (32 page)

The volume was divided into two parts: “The Rooms Inside,” consisting of twenty-three poems on personal themes and arranged to follow the speaker's progress from childhood to adulthood; and “The Rooms Outside,” consisting of thirteen poems on larger, more public themes, with the exception of the final, title poem.

“THE ROOMS INSIDE”

“Mothers”

L. 10: “burns avenue”: Giovanni and her family lived on Burns Avenue in Wyoming, a suburb north of Cincinnati, from about the time she was in kindergarten until about the end of her third grade year.

L. 23: “samson myth”: Samson's strength lay in his hair, which he told Delilah had never been cut. Delilah exploited his weakness with women both to cut his hair and to blind him. See Judges 13–16.

“A Poem for Carol (May She Always Wear Red Ribbons)”

L. 3: “lincoln heights”: Lincoln Heights was the all-black suburb of Cincinnati where Giovanni and her family moved in 1948.

L. 4: “jackson street”: Giovanni's parents first bought a house on Jackson Street in Lincoln Heights; later, they bought a home on Congress Street, just a few blocks from Jackson.

“Conversation”

This poem is clearly connected to the earlier “Alabama Poem”, published in
Re: Creation.

“Rituals”

L. 14: “
chandlers
”: A chain store that sold inexpensive shoes.

“Poem for Stacia”

Stacia Murphy was an African American whom Giovanni met in Lagos, Nigeria. When Giovanni was unable to find a hotel room, Ms. Murphy let the poet stay with her.

“I Remember”

L. 11: “play
ohmeohmy
”: “Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)” was an Aretha Franklin hit song included in her album
Young, Gifted, and Black,
released in January 1972.

“Just a New York Poem”

Ll. 7–8: “women/in love”: A 1969 film version of the D. H. Lawrence novel.

Ll. 9–10: “The Spirit/In The Dark”: The actual title of Aretha Franklin's 1970 album is
Spirit in the Dark.

“The Wonder Woman (A New Dream—for Stevie Wonder)”

This poem looks back to “Dreams” (from
Black Judgement,
) and “Revolutionary Dreams” (from
Re: Creation,
).

Stevie Wonder had a female backup vocal group called Wonderlove, but Giovanni said she always thought of the group as the Wonderwomen.

L. 7: “sweet inspiration”: The Sweet Inspirations were back ground singers for Atlantic Records. The lead singer was Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney); the others were Estelle Brown, Sylvia Shemwell, and Myrna Smith. The Sweet Inspirations, who did background vocals for many of Aretha Franklin's hits, sang
three-part harmony. See the reference to being a “sweet inspiration” in the earlier poem “Dreams.”

“Categories”

In an interview Giovanni stated that she originally wrote this poem for Edie Locke, who was editor in chief at
Mademoiselle
magazine the year Giovanni won one of its Women-of-the-Year Awards (1971). Giovanni said she thought the surprise some people expressed at her winning the award was attributable to their habit of thinking in categories.

“Straight Talk”

Straight Talk
was the name of a women's television talk show in New York City in the early 1970s. It was hosted by Carol Jenkins.

Ll. 27–28: “the shadow/and the act”:
Shadow and Act
is the title of a 1964 collection of essays by Ralph Ellison (1914–94).

L. 28: “essence”:
Essence
magazine.

L. 28: “encore!”: From 1972 to 1980, Giovanni was a regular columnist for the Black newsmagazine
Encore American & Worldwide News.

L. 29: “the preceding…the letter E”: This was a tag line used regularly by the children's television show
Sesame Street.

Ll. 33–34: “enjoyed waiting on/the lord”: “Why Can't I Wait on the Lord” is the title of a gospel song by Harrison Johnson. It is sung as the background to Giovanni's reading of “Straight Talk” on her album
Like A Ripple On A Pond.

L. 38: “youth and truth are making love”: A line from “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” a 1969 hit single by Sly and The Family Stone.

L. 45: “spear o agnew association”: Spiro T. Agnew (1918–96) served as vice president under Richard M. Nixon from 1969 to 1973, when he resigned after being fined for income tax evasion.

L. 46: “HEY! this is straight talk!”: The television program
Straight Talk
ended with this line.

“Scrapbooks”

L. 9: “
green dolphin street
”: Title of a 1944 novel by Elizabeth Goudge.

L. 10: “
the sun is my undoing
”: Title of a 1944 novel by Marguerite Steen.

L. 19: “
jack and jill
dance”: Jack & Jill of America, Inc., a nonprofit African American family organization aimed at improving the growth and development of children, ages two to nineteen.

Ll. 32–34: “from the dean…fisk”: Ann Cheatam, dean of women at Fisk University when Giovanni was a freshman, expelled her at the end of her first semester.

L. 37: “grandfather graduated”: Giovanni's maternal grandfa ther, John Brown Watson (1887–1962), was a high school Latin teacher who graduated from Fisk in 1905.

L. 49: “miles davis record”: Miles Davis (1926–91), trumpet player who had a tremendous influence on bebop and cool jazz.

L. 58: “
something cool
”: The title of a 1953 song and album recorded by the jazz singer June Christy (1925–90). Giovanni was a Christy fan during the 1960s and 1970s.

L. 59: “
tears on my pillow
”: A 1958 hit song that sold more than one million copies and ensured a career for Little Anthony and the Imperials.

“[Untitled] (For Margaret Danner)”

Margaret Danner (1915–82?), a Chicago poet, wrote Giovanni a letter expressing pride in Giovanni's work. One of the lines in the letter was “one ounce of truth benefits like a ripple in a pond.” This line also provided the title for Giovanni's 1973 album,
Like A Ripple On A Pond.

“My Tower (For Barb and Anthony)”

“Barb” is Giovanni's friend Barbara Crosby, who had a new son, Anthony.

L. 12: “black pearl of immeasurable worth”: See Matthew 13:45–46.

L. 18: “harriet's route”: Harriet Tubman (c. 1820–1913) was the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad.

“Poem (For Nina)”

This is the second poem Giovanni wrote for Nina Simone (1933–2003), “High Priestess of Soul,” musician, singer, and political diva. The other is “The Genie in the Jar,”.

L. 1:
“in the castle of our skins”: In the Castle of My Skin
is the title of the 1953 autobiography by the Caribbean writer George Lamming (1927–).

“Africa I”

L. 1: “kola nut”: Two kola trees bearing nuts are found in Africa; the kola nut is used to make medicines and beverages.

L. 9: “look ida”: Ida E. Lewis (1935–), journalist, editor, and publisher. At the time this poem was written, Lewis was the editor of
Encore American & Worldwide News
and a good friend of Giovanni.

L. 17: “john brown”: Giovanni's maternal grandfather, John Brown Watson (1887–1962).

L. 20: “accra”: Accra, capital of Ghana and an important center in the gold and slave trade.

L. 25: “your mother”: Africa.

“Africa II”

L. 4: “cape coast castle”: Cape Coast Castle, on the coast of Ghana, was an important holding fort of the slave trade. Africans would be brought from the interior of the continent to places like Cape Coast Castle, where they would be placed in dungeons until enough had been gathered to fill the hold of a slave ship.

L. 5: “18th century clock”: Evidence of the presence of a high-ranking British officer. See lines 13–15.

L. 20: “there are thousands”: A reference to Africans intended to be shipped as slaves to the New World who died in the horrible con
ditions that prevailed at Cape Coast Castle (and other holding forts).

Ll. 22–23: “secret passageway…governor's quarters”: African women awaiting transport in the dungeon were routinely subjected to rape by the British governor in charge.

L. 24: “roberta flack recorded a song”: Roberta Flack (1940–), pop singer who had several number-one hits in the 1970s, including “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” While she was at one of the slave-holding forts on the African coast, she recorded a song (not commercially released).

L. 25: “les mccann”: Les McCann (1935–), jazz pianist and singer who also visited a slave-holding fort on the African coast.

“They Clapped”

L. 9 “fanon”: Frantz Fanon (1925–61), political philosopher, writer, and activist whose work on the effects of colonialism on Africa—especially
Black Skin, White Masks
and
The Wretched of the Earth
—were highly influential.

L. 9: “davenport”: Giovanni does not recall whom she had in mind here, and I have been unable to identify a likely candidate.

L. 10: “j.h. clarke's lectures”: John Henrik Clarke (1915–98) was an important educator and writer and a prominent figure in the pan-African movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

L. 11: “nkrumah”: Kwame Nkrumah (1909–72), leader and later president of Ghana, the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence.

L. 11: “nigeria in the war”: A reference to the thirty-month civil war in Nigeria, also known as the Biafran War (1967–70), triggered by the Eastern Region's declaration of itself as a separate state, Biafra.

L. 20: “lagos”: The former capital, largest city, and main port of Nigeria.

Ll. 26–27: “sly and the family/stone”: Sly and the Family Stone was an important singing group in the late 1960s; they brought together gospel, rhythm and blues, and rock.

L. 30: “james brown”: James Brown (1933–), a.k.a. the God
father of Soul and Mr. Dynamite, inventor of funk, and the most important contributor to and influence on soul music.

“Poem (For Anna Hedgeman and Alfreda Duster)”

Anna Hedgeman (1899–1990) was an educator and Civil Rights activist. She was the only woman on the planning committee of the 1963 March on Washington. Giovanni met Hedgeman when she visited Fisk University and came to a history class in which Giovanni was enrolled. Giovanni subsequently ran into Hedgeman periodically in New York.

Alfreda Duster (1904–83), daughter of Ida B. Wells, was a civic leader and social worker in Chicago. On a visit to Chicago, Giovanni met her, but only once.

“Atrocities”

L. 1: “napalmed children”: Newspaper and television images of children whose bodies were on fire from the napalm used so widely during the Vietnam War (1954–75) were common during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

L. 4: “one president”: John F. Kennedy (1917–63), thirty-fifth President of the United States (1961–63), who was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.

L. 4: “one nobel prize winner”: Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964; he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

L. 5: “one president's brother”: U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925–68), a presidential candidate, was shot in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, and died the next day.

L. 5: “four to six white students”: Probably a reference to the May 18, 1970, incident at Kent State University, when four student protesters were shot and killed by National Guardsmen.

Ll. 8–9: “c.i.a…. pull/the trigger on malcolm”: Malcolm X, later Al Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz (1925–65), was assassinated on February 21, 1965, in the Audubon Ballroom in New York by gun
men associated with the Nation of Islam; many people (including Giovanni) believed that an agency of the federal government, such as the Central Intelligence Agency, had played a role in his death.

L. 10: “eight nurses in chicago”: The 1966 massacre of eight student nurses from South Chicago Community Hospital climaxed a life of violence and a three-month killing spree for Richard Speck (1941–91). Evidence suggests that Speck had murdered four other people in the three months leading up to the July 10 massacre.

L. 11: “sixteen people at the university of texas”: Charles Whitman's 1966 killing spree was perhaps the first time Americans realized that public spaces are not necessarily safe. On August 1, 1966, Whitman made his way to the top of the Texas Tower on the University of Texas campus and began shooting at the people below; in his ninety-six-minute siege, he killed sixteen people and wounded another thirty. Immediately before he stood atop the tower, Whitman had killed his mother, his wife, a receptionist, and two couples he encountered on the stairs.

L. 12: “the boston strangler”: Although no one was ever officially identified as the Boston Strangler, the general public believed that Albert DeSalvo was that individual. During the period 1962–64, thirteen single women from the Boston area were sexually molested and strangled in their apartments; the public felt that these murders were the work of the same individual. Despite the fact that DeSalvo confessed to eleven “official” Strangler murders, controversy continues about whether he was the real murderer.

L. 13: “john coltrane”: John Coltrane (1926–67) was a jazz saxophonist, composer, and innovator who died of liver failure. Although there is no evidence that his death was from anything other than natural causes, Giovanni said in an interview that her “paranoia” has always made her suspicious of the early deaths of so many musicians.