Nikki Giovanni and Charles Bukowski: New collections from poetry's icons

'Acolytes' and 'The People Look Like Flowers at Last' are their latest efforts at shaping the literary landscape.

By Elizabeth Lund

from the April 17, 2007 edition

Page 1 of 3

The icons of the poetry world have always shaped the literary landscape, testing boundary lines and extending the borders. A few impact society as well, giving voice to a particular time or movement in ways that no one else can.

Then there are writers like Nikki Giovanni and the late Charles Bukowski, who are viewed as both cultural icons and poets of the people, as some have called them. They've become household names, even to those who have never read their poetry.

Yet when someone like Giovanni or Bukowski publishes a new collection, certain questions naturally arise. Among them: Does the poet's reputation or persona outshine the poems themselves?

With Giovanni, the answer is a qualified yes. But before readers notice any weaknesses in Acolytes, currently one of the bestselling collections of verse in the United States, they see flashes of what has made her so famous.

Giovanni, as her fans know, emerged during the Black Arts Movement, which lasted from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. She, like other key figures of that era, vividly portrayed the experience of African-Americans, particularly the struggles and injustices they faced.

Giovanni's role as a voice of conscience is clear in this excerpt from "The Seamstress of Montgomery," which comes early in the book:

The saddest thing about your death
Is that you missed your funeral

You didn't get to see all the people
Who despised everything you stood for
Have to bend one knee to you
having killed no one
having no weapon other than truth

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | Next Page