PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release James Sprunt Community College
Contact: Teresa Gates
910-296-2400 Ex. 2070
PO Box 398, Kenansville, North Carolina 27834
Poet and Professor Nikki Giovanni Will Speak At Duplin Commons KENANSVILLE, NC – World‐renowned poet and professor Nikki Giovanni will speak Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 7:00 P.M. in the Lois Britt Complex ‐ Ed Emory Auditorium at the Duplin Commons in Kenansville, North Carolina. The event is free and open to the general public. There will be a book signing following the event. Giovanni, a poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator, is one of the most widely‐read American poets. She prides herself on being “a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English.” She is a strong voice of the Black community, “focusing on the individual, and the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others.” Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, she graduated with honors from Fisk University in 1968; after graduating from Fisk, she attended the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. She published her first book of poetry, Black Feeling Black Talk, in 1968, with a second book the following year, thus launching her career as a writer. Over the course of more than three decades of publishing and lecturing, she has been referred to as the “Princess of Black Poetry,” a “National Treasure,” and one of Oprah Winfrey’s twenty five “Living Legends.” Giovanni’s books have received many honors and awards including NAACP Image Awards for Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes, Quilting the Black‐Eyed Pea, Acolytes, and Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat. Her book Blues: For All the Changes reached number 4 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list. Her children’s picture book, Rosa, about civil rights legend Rosa Parks, became a Caldecott Honors Book and reached number 3 on The New York Times Bestseller list. Her latest book, Bicycles: Love Poems reached number 1 on Amazon.com for poetry. Giovanni also performs spoken‐word recordings, becoming one of five finalists for a Grammy Award for her Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Giovanni has received twenty five honorary degrees, been named Woman of the year by Mademoiselle Magazine, The Ladies Home Journal, and Ebony Magazine. She is in the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame and named an Outstanding Woman of Tennessee. Giovanni also received Governor’s Awards from Tennessee and Virginia, was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and was awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. She is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and has received Life Membership and Scroll from The National Council of Negro Women. Giovanni is also a University Distinguished professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. The event is sponsored by The Clinton Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., the Duplin County Schools, the Duplin County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., James Sprunt Community College, The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and Sampson Community College. ###