The new book Poems, letters, blurbs, and things

ldquo;Poems are a good idea." So writes the acclaimed Giovanni in this collection of poetry and short prose, a remarkable final addition to the undeniable legacy of the award-winning poet and activist. Represented here is a mixture of timely topics, both personal and political, all imbued with the signature style that became synonymous with Giovanni over her more than 50-year career. Whether elegantly painting a quotidian scene, "And I sit / With patches of cloth / And snickles of cake / And just a little bit / Of cold red wine / Waiting for Jason / To come home"; entreating her readers to vote and "Find the courage / To help rid us all / Of the festering mold in the white house"; or writing an elegy to a lost friend, Giovanni invites readers into her pieces to experience the pain and joy of the world as she saw it. Reading this collection is not only a reflection on the topics at hand and on the author's friendships and moments of her life; it is also a paean to the extraordinary writing of a beloved and deeply influential writer.

This life-affirming posthumous collection from Giovanni (Make Me Rain) features her recent poems as well as letters, lists, excerpts from interviews, and other prose pieces which run the gamut from mini-essays to diaristic writing. Throughout, Giovanni sifts through culture to identify flash points that illuminate deeper truths. "We are born/ We will die// Sometimes/ That's a good/ Idea/ To Understand," she writes in the poem "Yes," which showcases her knack for getting to the heart of shared human experience. Elsewhere, she remarks with her trademark wisdom and clarity, "Hatred is a bad idea. Which is why it's cheap and available anywhere you look." Other pieces eulogize and celebrate her contemporaries; in a remembrance of Toni Morrison, Giovanni recounts how she turned to Morrison in the aftermath of two deaths in her family: "One afternoon I was sitting at my desk just sort of being dismayed when I decided to call Toni. I probably talked more than ever and she was kind enough to listen. She finally said Nikki, Write. That's all you can do. Write." Full of Giovanni's righteous vision and serene belief in the power of words, this is a gift. (Sept.)