Almost exactly 20 years ago, I sat in my college mentor's office whining about how much I hated my 20th Century American Literature class. Everything is so depressing, I said. So hopeless, so nihilistic, and I hate the way these authors write. Dr. C. took a small, slim volume off one of her shelves, put it in my hands, and said "I think this is what you need."
The book was Those Who Ride the Night Winds, and it started a love for Giovanni's poetry that has lasted for two decades. She is not only my favorite poet; I daresay that if she didn't exist, I wouldn't even have a favorite poet.
There are two things I love about her poetry. The first is the universality and deep emotion of her poems. Although a lot of her writing is clearly from the perspective of an African American woman who came of age in the early 60s, and I will admit that some of her earlier, more militant poetry makes me uncomfortable, it is a good kind of uncomfortable. It's the kind of uncomfortable that any human being should feel when reading about injustice. And at its heart, all of her poetry is about relationships. Relationships between men and women, between friends and rivals, Blacks and Whites, a person and herself, a person and the people she admires.
The other thing I love is her skill at taking emotions and experiences we've all had and distilling them to their purest essence. One of my favorite lines from Hemingway (from one of his worst books) is, "You have to know how complicated it is, and then write it simply." Of this, Giovanni is a master.
Nothing I write can possibly do her justice, so I encourage everyone to check her out. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite lines from one of my favorite poems, "The December of my Springs."
perhaps there will be no
difference between the foolishness of age
and the foolishness of youth
some say we are responsible
for those we love
others know we are responsible
for those who love us
No comments:
Post a Comment