{"product_id":"the-new-book-poems-letters-blurbs-and-things","title":"The New Book: Poems, Letters, Blurbs, and Things","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNikki Giovanni's extraordinary final collection--a landmark of American literature which speaks to the fury and upheaval of our time, as well as the triumphs and delights of her remarkable creative life.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor decades, Nikki Giovanni's poetry has been at the forefront of American culture. \u003cem\u003eThe New Book \u003c\/em\u003eis a towering work of protest against the divisions of our time, leavened with moments of joy and reflection about her indelible legacy, her family history, and the small pleasures of her richly lived life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe New Book, \u003c\/em\u003eNikki Giovanni slashes at the ridiculousness of our cultural and political climate: \"We have no secrets\/since the world shrunk\/and the icebergs melted\/and all the year books\/are digitized.\/... and we press Like\/or No Like\/as if it mattered.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe remembers 2020 and its cataclysmic reckoning with police brutality and white supremacy: \"I do understand that republicans\/Are cowards and so are those nazis\/Cheering\/And those kkk we now call police killing\/Not to mention father and sons chasing unarmed Black men\/and running their cars into crowds\/Pretending they are brave or something\/They are not only cowards\/And nazis but evil fools\/And who go to bed white\/Wake up American\/And hate themselves for having\/To share this earth\/They will not overcome\/And we will not love them.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut also in the same poem: \"But what does 2020 mean to me\/A chance to learn to open oysters\/Talk to my friends\/Catch up on my reading\/Tell myself I am going to dust the house\/Lie about it\/...Enjoy my own company not to mention football\/And remember there will be tomorrow\/Because there will be\/And evil will go and good will come\/I am Black\/We have seen much worse.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith this collection, which includes brief letters and short prose from her life as well as poetry, Giovanni reaffirms her place as a giant of literature, a canny truth-teller, an indispensable radical orator, and one of America's preeminent cultural critics. It is a book to be savored, and shared.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"If there was a need for poetry that galvanized and inspired, there was also a demand for poetry that comforted and unified -- and Ms. Giovanni provided on both counts.\" -- \u003cem\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Morrow \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45938553585837,"sku":"9780063447523","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0609\/6954\/9997\/files\/imageloader_dff7584b-e394-407b-b2eb-e13e6fee8b8b.jpg?v=1776965242","url":"https:\/\/thirdspacereadingroom.com\/products\/the-new-book-poems-letters-blurbs-and-things","provider":"ThirdSpace Reading Room","version":"1.0","type":"link"}