BLACKSBURG, Va. – Nikki Giovanni, the acclaimed poet, Virginia Tech Professor and Black Arts movement Icon, passed away at the age of 81 on Monday.
She passed away peacefully with her lifelong partner, Virginia Fowler, by her side.
Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 7, 1943, and served as a University Distinguished Professor in the English Department at Virginia Tech.
Giovanni was the recipient of hundreds of awards and honors, most recently a 2024 Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.
Giovanni was also one of the cultural icons of the Black Arts and Civil Rights Movements. She became friends with Rosa Parks, Aretha Franklin, James Baldwin, Nina Simone and Muhammad Ali.
Having battled cancer twice already, Giovanni refused to let a third bout interrupt her art. Just three weeks ago she performed with saxophonist Javon Jackson at the Louis Armstrong House in New York City. Her forthcoming book of poetry, The Last Book, will be published in fall 2025.
“The poet Adrienne Rich wrote ‘…somehow, each of us will help the other live, and somewhere, each of us must help the other die.’ Renée [Watson] and I sat by her side, with Ginney, along with family and close friends, chatting about how much we learned about living from her, about how lucky we have been to have Nikki guide us, teach us, love us. We will forever be grateful for the unconditional time she gave to us, to all her literary children across the writerly world,” said poet Kwame Alexander.
Giovanni is survived by her wife Virginia Fowler, her son Thomas Giovanni, her grandaughter Kai Giovanni, two cousins, Haynes Ford and Allison Ragan, and a nephew Christopher Black.
“We will forever feel blessed to have shared a legacy and love with our dear cousin,” said Allison Ragan on behalf of the family