Poet, activist, and children’s author Nikki Giovanni, 81, died on December 9 in Blacksburg, VA. Giovanni’s first two books, Black Feeling Black Talk and Black Judgment, were self-published in 1968, and she went on to author more than 30 books. She served as a professor at Virginia Tech and was the recipient of seven N.A.A.C.P. awards and 31 honorary doctorates.
