Nikki Giovanni is an important and extremely popular literary figure who came into prominence on the American scene as one of the most noted poets of the new black renaissance which began in the 1960s. Since that time she has grown tremendously from the open, aggressive, and explosive revolutionary tendencies that characterized her early verses to expressions of universal sensitivity, artistic beauty, tenderness, warmth, and depth. Accompanying this steady growth in artistic quality as a poet has been her attainment of wide popularity and acclaim as a lecturer in the black community and on college campuses around the country. Especially revered for her easy blending of curse-words into her most elegant speeches, she has become somewhat of a folk hero, and has been called the "Princess of Black Poetry." On her frequent speaking tours she attracts overflowing crowds. Addressing such a crowd at Wilberforce University in 1972, where she...