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  • Nikki Giovanni, often referred to by fans as the "Princess of Black Poetry," is back on the scene with another brilliant collection of poems titled, BLUES FOR ALL THE CHANGES . Anyone who knows music and about the Blues in general will find all the poems in this book to be in some way a lyrical and ... Continue

    Nikki Giovanni, often referred to by fans as the "Princess of Black Poetry," is back on the scene with another brilliant collection of poems titled, BLUES FOR ALL THE CHANGES . Anyone who knows music and about the Blues in general will find all the poems in this book to be in some way a lyrical and rhythmic statement not only about this radical poet's life, but about some of the best and worst moments in Black America.

    http://www.thegritsbookclub.com/Reviews/BluesFo...

    

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• ― thegrits said on Apr 13, 2008 | Add your feedback

Intimate, edgy, and unapologetic, Blues: For All the Changes bears the mark of Nikki Giovanni's unmistakable voice. In a career that has spanned three decades, Giovanni has created an indispensable body of work and earned a place amoung the nation's most celebrated and controversial poets; Gloria Naylor calls her "one of our national treasures." Now, in these fifty-two new poems, Giovanni brings the passion, fearless wit, and intensely personal self that have defined her life's work to a new front.

Invoking the fates and exalting the rhythm of the everyday, Giovanni writes with might and majesty. From the environment to our reliance on manners, from sex and politics to love among Black folk, Blues is a masterwork with poems for every soul and every mood: The poignant "Stealing Home" pays tribute to Jackie Robinson, while "Road Rage Blues" jams on time and space; Giovanni celebrates love's absolut power in "Train Rides" and laments life's trasience in "Me and Mrs. Robin." With the tenderness that has made her on of our most accessible and beloved poets, Giovanni evokes a world that is not only just but also happy. Her powerful stand engages the world with a truth telling that is as eloquent as it is elegant.

From the poignant "Stealing Home," Ms. Giovanni's tribute to Jackie Robinson, to the defiant "Road Rage Blues," a jam on time and space, these fifty-one poems challenge the fates and invoke the precarious state of our environment, Giovanni's battle with illness, manners, and other topics seminal to one of our most compassionate, outspoken observers.

With a reverence for the power of language, Blues For All the Changes will once again enchant Nikki Giovanni's extensive following and inspire those who are newly discovering her work.

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