From the editor-in-chief.I first met Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni (born June 7, 1943 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is a Grammy-nominated American poet, activist and author. Giovanni is currently a Distinguished Professor of English at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. in 1993 on the set of our videoconference, "The Writers, The Stories, The Legacy," sponsored by BIBR's sister publication Black Issues in Higher Education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. . Nikki was one of the first writers to participate in this special telecast that explored the history of African and African-American storytelling, which extolled the resurgence of contemporary black writers and paid tribute to the late Alex Haley Noun 1. Alex Haley - United States writer and Afro-American who wrote a fictionalized account of tracing his family roots back to Africa (1921-1992) Haley . She shared the spotlight with Houston Baker, Terry McMillan
Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951[1], in Port Huron, Michigan) is an African-American author. , Marita Golden and Charles Johnson Charles Johnson may refer to:
midmost of all the excitement, Nikki, who was warm yet serious and to the point, had a special glow, even then. I'm proud to have captured her unique aura for the cover of this issue of BIBR BIBR Bay Islands Beach Resort (Roatan, Honduras) BIBR Backward Indicator Bit Received . One of the finest poets of our time, Nikki's books--most of which are dog-eared--are on my personal bookshelf. In addition to reading her poems for nearly three decades, I've followed her life's work Life's Work is a sitcom that aired from 1996 to 1997 on the American Broadcasting Company channel that starred Lisa Ann Walter as Lisa Ann Minardi Hunter, the assistant district attorney who had a husband named Kevin Hunter closely, especially her mentoring of many young, aspiring black writers. Through my friend, writer Opal Moore, currently an English professor at Spelman, who has for years remained a close friend to Nikki, I have been able to observe Nikki and recognize her stature as a cornerstone in the African-American writing community. So it came as a surprise that our thirtysomething-year-old contributing writer Samiya Bashir could tell me something new about Nikki Giovanni. In our cover story (page 32), she added much to my two scores of knowledge about Nikki. Samiya's piece reveals a Nikki Giovanni who is in a spiritually different place, as she prepares to enter her sixth decade with the launch of a new collection of poetry, with insights and verse that are even more profound and affecting than those of the past. I can think of no better way to close our fourth year of publishing this magazine devoted to black books than to grace its cover with Nikki Giovanni. I am also proud to share our pages with Spike and Tonya Lewis Lee and Ntozake Shange among other celebrated writers. It's members of the African-American literary family like these who make publishing BIBR a labor of love. And no year-end issue would be complete without remembering all the special writers in the family, so check out the BIBR staff's comprehensive and surprising "Best of 2002" (page 21) list. We've also compiled our first gift guide for book lovers (page 52) to make your holiday shopping easy. Don't forget the best gift of all--give BIBR subscriptions. It's the gift that keeps giving the joy of reading all year! Sincerely, William E. Cox President/Editor-in-Chief |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion