Looking for a book for gift giving? Nikki Giovanni's poetry collection might be the answer.
This red-jacketed little book, simply titled Love Poems, is a collection of Nikki Giovanni’s previously published and unpublished poems on many facets of love relationships. It would make a nice Valentine’s gift for almost anyone.
The poems present the full range of love relationships. There are the giddy and funny aspects of new love of “My House” (“I really need to hug you/when I want to hug you/as you like to hug me/does this sound like a silly poem”).
In “Balances,” there is a looking back on those times when “we used to talk all night/and do things alone together” that have passed. Then, in “You Were Gone,” “You were gone/like a fly lighting/on that wall/with a spider in the corner” and it’s over.
But not all of the poems are about romantic love. Parent and child relationships are included. “For Tommy” is a poem for Giovanni’s son. “Mothers” is a poem for her mother (“I remember the first time/I consciously saw her”).
This collection is dedicated to Tupac Shakur and there is a poem written for him, “All Eyez on U” (this generation mourns 2Pac as my generation mourned Till as we/all mourn Malcolm…this wonderful young warrior”).
There are poems dedicated to other well-known people. Two are Langston Hughes and chef Edna Lewis. Events, like the burning of black churches, also figure in to some of the poems.
Those who remember Nikki Giovanni’s early revolutionary and militant poems in Black Feeling/Black Talk and Black Judgment might be surprised to find her writing about “You can have me as much as your heart can stand/then put the rest on/account and pay the interest…” in “I Take Master Card.” That poem and “Luxury” are commentaries on love and materialism in American society.
Long-time Giovanni readers might also notice the subtle change in style of the poems in this collection. The earlier poems appear to have more depth and poignancy. The later—some previously unpublished—poems are a bit too easy. Many are done in a jazz/blues style, reminiscent of Langston Hughes, but without the artful nuances expected in that music or as seen in Hughes’s poetry.
Besides Valentine’s Day, this collection could be a welcomed gift for an anniversary, Mother’s Day, engagement, or any I-thought-of-you day.
Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni, William Morris and Company, Inc. publisher
