The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni (33 page)

L. 14: “sonny liston”: Charles “Sonny” Liston (1932–70), heavyweight boxing champion who was knocked out in 1964 in the seventh round by Cassius Clay and in a 1965 rematch in the first round, this time by Clay with the new name Muhammad Ali.

L. 14: “jimi hendrixs”: Jimi Hendrix (1942–70), hugely successful rock star who died at age twenty-seven of an apparent drug overdose, but mystery still surrounds his death.

L. 14: “janis joplin”: Janis Joplin (1943–70), blues and rock and roll star who died of an accidental drug overdose.

L. 15: “featherstone”: Ralph Featherstone (19?–70), field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee who was killed on March 9, 1970, in a car bombing intended for H. Rap Brown; the bombing occurred outside the Maryland courthouse where Brown was to stand trial.

L. 16: “che”: Che Guevara (1928–67), Latin American guerrilla leader whose revolutionary theories became popular during the 1960s. Guevara was an important figure in Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution against Fulgencio Batista in Cuba. Guevara was shot to death by the Bolivian army in October 1967.

L. 17: “agnew”: Spiro T. Agnew (1918–96), formerly governor of Maryland, served as vice president under Richard M. Nixon from 1969 to 1973, when he resigned after being fined for income tax evasion.

L. 20: “eugene robinson”: According to Giovanni, Robinson was a police informant.

L. 21: “eldridge cleaver”: Eldridge Cleaver (1935–98), militant minister of information for the Black Panthers. Cleaver was wounded in a Panther shoot-out with police in 1968, jumped bail, and fled to Algeria.

L. 22: “expel a martyr”: An allusion to Huey Newton (1942–89) who with Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, later known simply as the Black Panther Party. While Newton was in prison on a murder conviction that was later overturned, Cleaver took over the Black Panther Party. Cleaver was more militant than Newton and gained influence over the East Coast branches of the Panthers, while Newton was always based on the West Coast.

L. 23: “The president”: Richard M. Nixon (1913–94), thirty-seventh President of the United States (1969–74).

L. 24: “manson”: Charles Manson (1934–) was convicted of
the 1969 murders of Sharon Tate and six other people. Although Manson did not commit the murders himself, his charismatic personality enabled him to convince others—his “Family”—to do so.

L. 26: “joe frazier”: Joe Frazier (1944–), former heavyweight boxing champion. Frazier became heavyweight champion in 1970, in part, many thought, because of the absence of Muhammad Ali (1942–) from the boxing scene. Ali had been stripped of his title in 1967, when he refused to fight in the Vietnam War. His match with Frazier in March 1971 was his first fight after being stripped of the title, and Frazier won the fifteen-round match by unanimous decision. In two subsequent matches, Ali defeated Frazier.

“Nothing Makes Sense”

L. 36: “aretha”: Aretha Franklin (1942–), the undisputed “Queen of Soul.”

L. 41: “julian bond”: Julian Bond (1940–) served four terms in the Georgia House of Representatives (1967–74) and six terms in the Georgia Senate (1975–87).

L. 41: “rap brown”: H. Rap Brown, now Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (1943–). Civil Rights activist who became the chairman of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) after Stokely Carmichael left that post.

L. 42: “nixon”: Richard M. Nixon (1913–94), thirty-seventh President of the United States (1969–74).

L. 44: “our man on the moon”: Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin, the first men to walk on the moon.

“I Laughed When I Wrote It (Don't You Think It's Funny?)”

L. 2: “i guess negro”: See note to “The True Import of Present Dialogue,”.

L. 11 “shorter than hoover”: J. Edgar Hoover (1895–1972), director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1924–72), whose abuse of his powers, especially in matters regarding Black people, has been widely documented.

L. 14: “rap brown”: H. Rap Brown, now Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (1943–). Civil Rights activist who became chairman of
SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) after Stokely Carmichael left that post.

L. 32: “interpol”: The International Criminal Police Organi zation.

L. 46: “aretha franklin”: Aretha Franklin (1942–), a.k.a. “Queen of Soul.”

“On Seeing Black Journal and Watching Nine Negro Leaders ‘Give Aid and Comfort to the Enemy' to Quote Richard Nixon”

Black Journal
was a nationally syndicated black news program that began airing in 1968. In 1970 Tony Brown (1933–) became its executive producer and host and initiated numerous changes, including an emphasis on self-help, which generated criticism from many African Americans.

For the significance of the use of “Negro” in the title, see note to “The True Import of Present Dialogue,”.

President Richard M. Nixon accused antiwar protesters of “giving aid and comfort to the enemy.”

L. 4: “steal away”: The title of a well-known slave spiritual.

The Women and the Men

Published in 1975, this volume brought together many of the poems originally published in
Re: Creation
and nineteen new poems.
Re: Creation,
which had been published by Broadside Press, had a smaller distribution than Giovanni's other volumes, published by William Morrow. Many readers who had learned “Ego Tripping” from listening to the album
Truth Is on Its Way
did not discover a print version of the poem until its inclusion in
The Women and the Men.
The volume was originally divided into three sections: “The Women,” “The Men,” and “Some Places.” These section divisions are not maintained in the present text, which provides only the poems new to
The Women and the Men.

“The Women Gather (for Joe Strickland)”

Joe Strickland was a journalist murdered in Boston by a house burglar. His widow asked if Giovanni would write something for his funeral. Giovanni knew Strickland because he wrote for
Encore American & Worldwide News
, a magazine in which she was actively involved.

L. 18: “rooms facing east”: Perhaps a reference to the prayer breakfasts held in the East Room of the White House by Richard Nixon during his presidency (1969–74).

“The Life I Led”

L. 22: “bombs not falling in cambodia”: Cambodia, which in 1970 became the Khmer Republic, was a major battlefield in the Vietnam War (1954–75).

“The Way I Feel”

This poem provided the title for a poetry with jazz album Giovanni released in 1975.

L. 19: “roberta flack”: Roberta Flack (1940–), pop singer who had several hits in the 1970s, including “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Flack also wrote the liner notes for Giovanni's album
The Way I Feel.

“The Laws of Motion (for Harlem Magic)”

Esquire
magazine originally requested that Giovanni provide words/dialogue for a series of paintings by a young painter.
Harlem Magic
was the name of the exhibition.

Stanza 5: “Professor Micheau”: Lewis Michaux.

“Always There Are the Children”

This poem was written for the United Nations' first World Food Conference in 1974, held in Rome.

Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day

Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day
was published on October 25, 1978, and its sales were quite strong. By the time it appeared, Giovanni had moved with her young son back to Cincinnati to help care for her father, who had suffered a stroke. The volume was dedicated to him.

“Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day”

Giovanni frequently describes the incident that gave rise to this poem when she reads it in live performances: One rainy day before she had moved to New York, she took her nephew, Christopher, to the Cincinnati Zoo. When they tried to buy some cotton candy, the vendor did not want to sell it because the rain would make it melt. The image and the vendor's denial of life's mutability stayed with the poet.

L. 49: “
as sweet as you are
”: “Stay As Sweet As You Are,” written by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon, was in the film
College Rhythm
and was recorded by Ruth Etting in 1934. It was later covered by Nat “King” Cole (1919–65).

L. 50: “
in my corner
”: “Stay in My Corner” was a 1969 hit single by the Dells.

L. 51: “
just a little bit longer
”: “Stay (Just a Little Bit Longer)” was a 1960 hit single by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs; it was subsequently covered by artists such as the Four Seasons, the Hollies, and Chaka Khan.

L. 52: “
don't change baby baby don't change
”: “Don't Change Your Love” was a 1968 hit single by the Five Stairsteps.

“Introspection”

L. 11: “Ian Smith”: Ian Douglas Smith (1919–), former prime minister of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), fought against the forces of African nationalism and staunchly supported apartheid in South Africa.

“Forced Retirement”

L. 31: “Namath”: Joe Namath (1943–), football phenomenon who played for the New York Jets and, for one season, for the Los Angeles Rams; he retired in 1977.

L. 31: “Ali”: Muhammad Ali (1942–), heavyweight boxing champion (1964–67, 1974–78, 1978–79); he retired in December 1981.

“Boxes”

Ll. 26–27: “muhammad ali…leon spinks relieved him”: Muhammad Ali (1942–) held the heavyweight boxing title three times: 1964–67, 1974–78, 1978–79; he lost his title to Leon Spinks (1953–) in February 1978 but regained it that November in their rematch.

“Poem”

L. 20: “the president of the united states”: Jimmy Carter (1924–), thirty-ninth President of the United States (1977–81).

L. 21: “Faith not deeds”: Carter was a born-again Christian.

L. 23: “larry flynt”: Larry Flynt (1942–), head of the
Hustler Magazine
publishing company, was the victim of a 1978 assassination attempt that left him paralyzed.

L. 42: “nixon”: Richard M. Nixon (1913–94), thirty-seventh President of the United States (1969–74).

L. 44: “humphrey's funeral”: Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–78), thirty-eighth vice president (1965–69), was twice an unsuccessful presidential candidate, losing to Richard M. Nixon (in 1968) and then to Jimmy Carter (in 1976).

L. 45: “opened his house”: Richard Nixon's birthplace in Yorba Linda, California.

L. 48: “anita bryant”: Anita Bryant (1940–), singer, Miss America runner-up, and orange juice saleswoman whose antigay crusade in 1976–77 ultimately strengthened the gay rights movement and destroyed Bryant's marriage and career.

L. 49: “carter or nixon”: See preceding notes.

Ll. 58–59: “city…garbage can”: Perhaps a reference to the 1974 sanitation workers' strike in New York.

“Fascinations”

L. 31: “con edison after all went out”: A reference to the black out in New York on the July 13 and 14, 1977.

“The Beep Beep Poem”

Ll. 11–12: “understand…troopers”: A reference to the May 18, 1970, incident at Kent State University in which four student protesters were shot and killed by National Guardsmen.

L. 27: “encore american and worldwide news”: The Black newsmagazine
Encore American & Worldwide News,
to which Giovanni was a regular contributor.

“A Poem for Ed and Archie”

Ed ran a lecture series at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Archie was his student assistant.

“Poem (for EMA)”

EMA are the initials of Elizabeth “Liz” M. Armstrong, a friend of the Giovanni family.

“Winter”

L. 8: “Father John's Medicine”: A cough medicine, the principal ingredient of which is cod-liver oil, once very popular and still available.

“A Response (to the rock group Foreigner)”

Foreigner was formed in 1976 as a collaboration between musicians formerly associated with other groups, both British and American. Their first album, released in 1977 and titled
Foreigner,
sold over four million copies in the United States alone. One of the hit singles on the album was “Cold As Ice.”

“Being and Nothingness (to quote a philosopher)”

Being and Nothingness
is the title of the 1943 classic work on existentialism by Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–80).

“That Day”

Giovanni stated in an interview with me that this poem is written to the rhythm of a song by Johnny Taylor (1938–2000) entitled “Your Love Is Rated X.”

Those Who Ride the Night Winds

Published in 1983,
Those Who Ride the Night Winds
marks Giovanni's innovation of a new “lineless” poetic form in which word groups are separated from each other by ellipses rather than line breaks. This new form retains the rhythmic effects essential to Giovanni's conscious use of the elements associated with an oral tradition; at the same time, it enables a more expansive treatment of subject matter than is generally possible in free verse. Giovanni has said that she developed this form to question the absolutism and complacency which she saw as characteristic of public discourse in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Of the twenty-nine poems composing
Night Winds,
twenty employ this lineless form, which she has continued to use extensively, while nine are written in the free verse characteristic of her earlier volumes.