[.ca] Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea: Poems and Not Quite Poems (ISBN 0060099526)

Wit and Energy:
In order to read this book properly, you'll have to heat a cup of tea and curl up under a warm blanket in front of a crackling fireplace. Make sure your feet are covered with thick, wool socks. You'll also have to check your preconceived notions about the world at the door and open your mind to seeing the same old things in a new way. Nikki Giovanni promotes thought. In "Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea," Giovanni tosses gold dust into the air and allows it to cover the world with great insights and wit. Her "Poems and Not Quite Poems" elicit smiles, tears and introspection. One gets the feeling of sitting at a wise grandmother's kitchen table as she cleans collard greens in a sink full of pale green water. Giovanni's words run clear. She praises Richard Williams (father of Venus and Serena Williams) for committing himself to his daughters' dreams. She honors Aretha Franklin. She shakes a disgusted head at President Bush and former Vice President Al Gore. She even has a few words for Susan Smith, the woman who drowned her children in her abandoned car. Giovanni speaks of her childhood and of the people who influenced her life. In this book, she sings an old, comfortable melody. "Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea" is an interesting read. It leaps about from topic to topic like a wild rabbit exploring the countryside. Although some won't agree with all of her views, Giovanni is to be respected as a voice in our history - speaking out where others have gone mute.

WONDERFUL!:
I loved this book of poems and not quite poems. I have so many favorites but the one I liked most was "Twenty Reasons to Love Richard Williams". When I read the title I was thinking who is Richard Williams...maybe some one she once dated. As I started reading it I realized who she was talking about. This poem is so funny yet so VERY true. I actually read it twice. There were several others that I enjoyed like "Aunt Daughter and that Glorious Song" and "Bring On The Bombs: A Historical Interview". As I read these I was sort of lost at first and then I realized that they were about James Weldon Johnson and Daisy Bates, I love the way that she tells the stories of those two events in history. I do wonder if "Aunt Daughter and That Glorious Song" is a true story. I also enjoyed "What We Miss", which was some what therapeutic for me becuase I lost my mother last year and many of the things that I miss about my mother were written in this poem. And "He Blew It" just speaks for itself. I love Ms. Giovanni's writing and this book is one of my favorites. She is so truthful about everything that she has written here. It is like she put on paper what everyone has been thinking.

Poems and Essays¿Nikki Style:
Holding a book of poetry or essays by Nikki Giovanni is like holding a gift of joy in one's hand. In this slim volume called Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, we get both genres. Some pieces have both; they start off as a poem and meander into essay form as in the self-titled offering, "Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea". What does H. Rap Brown have to do with NASA and Martians? Well, in this poem/essay, she ties it all together and somehow it all makes sense. In "Twenty Reasons to Love Richards Williams, Giovanni pays tribute to Venus and Serena Williams' father; "He makes white folks crazy (PS and the black bourgeoisie, too)". "Don't Think" is but six powerful lines and "Blackberry Cobbler", now one of my favorite poems, is reminiscent of childhood and grandmothers. Tributes are paid to James Baldwin, Rosa Parks, and there is another Aretha poem. In these tributes, a ground work of black history is laid before she bestows the honoree with ultimate adulation. As in Love Poems, her previous collection, Giovanni gives you words of wisdom, love, and conscientious discourse. This is a book that you will find yourself picking up again and again and wanting to share with others. This is poetry- Nikki style. Dera Williams APOOO BookClub

Grand Poet:
Writer Carolyn Heilbrun recommended Nikki Giovanni to me and others at the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2002. I read Giovanni's poetry yesterday and was carried away. My favorite poem in Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea is the one about Richard Williams, tennis father extraordinaire. Read this poem to your father; you and he will smile together.

"My Inspiration":
I enjoy you sharing your knowledge,wisdom and journeys.You are an inspiration to us all.Thank you.From one artist to another. Cassandra Dillon(Author of "Reality Poems")