A MISCELLANY OF BOOKS

Bicycles: Love Poems
By Nikki Giovanni
William Morrow & Company (2009)
ISBN: 0061726451

NIkki Giovanni is a poet, writer, educator, commentator, and activist who has been showered with awards throughout her storied career which has used books, the stage, Grammy-nominated recordings, the classroom, and visual media as delivery means. She can be dazzling, while convincing the audience that she sees the world in a way through her poems and written commentary that demands attention and commands our considerations. She sometimes uses a simple poetic delivery technique of short powerful, emotional, incisive phrases that reveal the subject matter in a way that is uniquely her own and almost instantly recognizable.

Giovanni celebrates her 65 years with 65 poems following in the tradition of her well-received collection, Bicycles: Love Poems,and expands on the nuances, notions, and manifestations of love. A Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech University at Blacksburg, Virginia, the collection opens and closes with reflections on the Virginia Tech massacre, sharing with readers her observations and lessons learned that love can lift anyone from the depth of tragedy. There are other works in the collection that mention the peace and protection love can bring, the sacrifices loved ones make, and the joy it offers.

She taps into the senses: the instant physiological reactions of seeing a lover or loved one regardless of whether they are a revered figure (in an ode to “Free Huey”) or familial as reflected in “Christmas Laughter.” Tastes are echoed in the references of food seasoned just right and prepared with the right dose of tender loving care. Hearing and touching are featured in several pieces devoted to jazz and the influence music has in the art of love and loving. “Love Luther” is dedicated to the love that Luther Vandross inspired with his melodic voice and songs that begat a generation. She does not let us forget the power of memories elicited from the whiff of a lover’s cologne, smell of “him” on his shirt, or revisiting his essence on the sweat-soaked sheets the morning after. Filled with metaphors Giovanni reminds us that love can be experienced everywhere at all times from many sources even our ancestors, our families, our friends, ourselves. We must be patient and mindful of it for it is a loving balm that can strengthen and renew us when we need it most.

Nikki Giovanni may be a little older and a little wiser, but she is still joyful, still with a lust for life. Even in her most sorrowful poems, there is such love underneath the pain. There is something for everyone in this compact offering because she covers the concept in many settings and from many angles. Bicycles: Love Poems is a short, sweet, enjoyable collection that is easily absorbed into the soul.

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ANTHOLOGY

BEATS AT NAROPA, An Anthology
Edited by Anne Waldman and Laura Wright
Coffee House Press (2009)
ISBN-10: 1566892279

Amassed from the riches of the Naropa University audio archives, Beats at Naropaoffers an exciting new look at the Beats—whose influence lives on in the art and politics of our time.

The book contains mostly transcripts of speeches and conversations held at what is now called Naropa University but what was originally known as the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Colorado. It’s a compulsively readable volume, full of facts and opinions.

This inspiring collection of discussions and lectures by and about some of the giants of the Beat Generation introduces readers to the hard truths behind being a Beat woman, the haunting accuracy of William Burroughs’s world-view, the passion and energy of Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman, Jack Kerouac’s innovative musicality, Diane di Prima’s foray into small press publishing, Michael McClure’s account of the famous first reading of “Howl,” and, most of all, the inspirations behind America’s most provocative and prescient thinkers.

Beats at Naropa is an engaging book – one destined to be expanded or have a sequel made as the audio archives continue to be developed, researched, and transcribed. In this regard, Waldman is a visionary – the audio archives being her brainchild. Such an endeavor is a vital record of America’s cultural and literary history and when such vitality continues to be recognized, more universities and organizations will follow her lead. It’s ironic that Waldman, one of the few women on the inside, is the one responsible for keeping the Beats culture alive. Informative, inspiring, Beats at Naropa is a must have for anyone’s literary collection.