Nikki Giovanni's Speech at VA Tech Convocation

WSLS NewsChannel 10 ^ | 17 April 2007 | WSLS NewsChannel 10

[giobruno]

I initially posted this on another thread, but it seems much better placed here.

Nikki Giovanni is a token writer and an insignificant poet; her work is only considered important because it is endlessly and myopically preoccupied with race and the hagiography of civil rights figures. Langston Hughes was fine poet, Jean Toomer wrote a first-rate novel, and Derek Walcott matters, but Ms Giovanni is an intellectual waterfly. There are plenty of third-rate writers and dreary poets like bell hooks and Maya Angelou who also have armloads of awards and a standing invite to go on Oprah; it doesn’t matter, they are still awful.

The audience warmly embraced her because they don’t know any better; they are cowed into thinking she is deep because someone always trots out the litany of awards that are supposed to stand in for her obvious lack of talent. They are also held in the spell of white guilt and it occludes both their discernment and their taste. No thoughtful writer, at her age, would ever say something like this in public, ever:

“We do not understand this tragedy We know we did nothing to deserve it But neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS Neither do the invisible children walking the night away To avoid being captured by a rogue army Neither does the baby elephant watching his community being devastated for ivory Neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water Neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night In his crib in the home his father built with his own hands Being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized No one deserves a tragedy”

It makes me wince just to read it. It is rubbish on so many different levels I don’t even know where to begin. Whatever their politics, no poet could utter such silly and sanctimonious drivel on such an occasion.

Incidentally, the sullen lunatic who murdered all these people was not college material; his writing is so appallingly bad that he should never have made it through any year in college, anywhere in the country, at any time in American history. But he was obviously passed along for years without the slightest hint of any talent whatsoever; no one gave him the rightful F he deserved because there are obviously no standards left. The same English department at VT that idolizes a phony like Ms. Giovanni was the same department who allowed the author of “Richard McBeef” to get as far as senior year. Sigh

[Finatic]

This woman is a race baiter and hate monger (typical liberal)

Last year Fountain Square here in Cincinnati was reopened after a major renovation. A big event was scheduled meant to bring the entire city together to celebrate. Granted, this city has had some major race issues since the 2001 riots but the city has come a long way in resolving some issues and moving forward.

So on comes this shriveled up old hack who spews her venom to the point of calling the honorable Ken Blackwell an SOB, she re-opened the wounds of the 2001 riots by invoking police brutality. She openly professed what a good man our current do-nothing (and horrible baseball pitcher) mayor Mark Mallory who claims our city is safe, yet he walks around with a tax payer funded bodyguard.

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/gov/2006/10/poet-giovanni-calls-blackwell-sob-at_14.asp

full text here:

http://www.plunderbund.com/?p=1089

EXCELLENT editorial here:

http://www.ccn-usa.net/contents.php?typeid=5&id=365

the scums at Democratic Underground love her:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2397517

Its race baiters and liberal malcontents like this so called “poet” who are the reason that we will NEVER normalize race relations in this country. Without their victims, people like Giovanni, Sharpton and Jackson are out of business.

[madprof98]

she's saying that there's no reason behind the tragedy at Virginia Tech anymore than there's reason behind tragedies that happen anywhere in the world

Nonsense. The various "tragedies" that she mentions here seem to be mostly cases where greedy capitalist interests undermined human (or animal) welfare. Giovanni specializes in grievances over those things. I have no idea how they are supposed to compare with what happened at VT, unless (as I suspect) her point is that more gun control would have saved the day.

[narses]

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[jaz.357]

Nikki Giovanni?

She no look Italian.

[kabar]

She definitely was the one person on the dais who related the best to her audience, which was the target of the convocation. Her remarks were uplifting and inspiring. The university and the students will go on despite the tragedy. It reminded me of Omar Khayyam:

"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all your Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.

For let Philosopher and Doctor preach Of what they will, and what they will not - each Is but one Link in an eternal Chain That none can slip, nor break, nor over - reach.

And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky, Whereunder crawling coop'd we live and die, Lift not your hands to It for help - for It As impotently rolls as you or I.

With Earth's first Clay They did the Last Man knead, And there of the Last Harvest sow'd the Seed: And the first Morning of Creation wrote What the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read.

Yesterday This Day's Madness did prepare; Tomorrow's Silence, Triumph, or Despair: Drink! for you know not whence you came, nor why: Drink! for you know not why you go, nor where.

[ohioWfan]

That's what I think. The kids were cheering for their school, and I think it helped them deal with the overwhelming grief.

I don't think they were responding to her stupid poem...........but what do I know? :)

[operation clinton cleanup]

I somehow think the overly multiculturist attitude at VT may have discouraged his suite mates from reporting “the weird Asian dude”... even though some of the faculty were already aware of him.

[ohioWfan]

Perhaps. But the kids did it today. I think they needed it now.

[AppyPappy]

Nikki is irreverant, naughty and a trouble maker.

In short, a Hokie. I think she is a lefty, civil rights wannabe. But she is Hokie through and through.

[alarm rider]

Sill leftist tripe.

[arbee4bush]

LOL

[Txsleuth]

Okay...I see your point...and since that convocation was for them..and not for us. Hey...that is great.

BUT...I did NOT like her “poem”.

I liked the one YOU posted by Omar Khayyam though..thank you.

[Txsleuth]

Oh...AP....I heard that you might have known some of the victims.

Are you okay?? This must really be hard for you.

[kabar]

You should be so successful. I am not a big fan of her poetry, but I would not call her a “piece of filth.” Your words say more about you than her.

[P-40]

That was one weird, rambling speech, before I turned it off anyway. Did it start to make some sort of sense at some point?

[LiteKeeper]

...We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant in the killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized....

This part was totally uncalled for...and a disgrace to the entire VT student body.

[Alouette]

ivory hunters killing baby elephants

Now why would ivory hunters kill baby elephants? They don't have tusks.

[AppyPappy]

It’s not hard for me. It’s hard for the people I know. My heart is broken for them.