Nikki Giovanni

To recognize and celebrate African American achievement over the past 100 years, Black Heroes profiles 150 individuals who have made a lasting and profound impact on our culture. Brimming with information and more than 200 photographs, Black Heroes is a who's who of cultural importance to all Americans. Wherever they've made their mark--politics, art, sports, entertainment, literature, civil rights, business, medicine, education, or law--the heroes represented in this book are men and women who have struggled against the odds and advanced to miraculous heights.

In a career that has spanned more than a quarter century, Nikki Giovanni has earned the reputation as one of America's most celebrated and controversial writers. Now, she presents a stunning collection of love poems that includes more than twenty new works. From the revolutionary "Seduction" to the tender new poem, "Just a Simple Declaration of Love," from the whimsical "I Wrote a Good Omelet" to the elegiac "All Eyez on U," written for Tupac Shakur, these poems embody the fearless passion and spirited wit for which Nikki Giovanni is beloved and revered. Romantic, bold, and erotic, Love Poems expresses notions of love in ways that are delightfully unexpected. Articulating in sensuous verse what we know only instinctively, Nikki Giovanni once again confirms her place as one of our nations's most distinguished poets and powerful truth-tellers." If there was a need for poetry that galvanized and inspired, there was also a demand for poetry that comforted and unified -- and Ms. Giovanni provided on both counts." -- The Washington Post

The acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni created this book by asking her friends--writers like Gloria Naylor, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Maxine Hong Kingston--for their stories and recollections of their grandmothers, then to a group of writers in their nineties for their thoughts. Grand Mothers celebrates those special women in every culture who preserve heritage and prepare the future. "A diverse and moving tribute." --Publishers Weekly

"If there was a need for poetry that galvanized and inspired, there was also a demand for poetry that comforted and unified -- and Ms. Giovanni provided on both counts." -- The Washington Post

Insightful and fun, this collection of poetry captures the essence of the African American experience for young people.