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Mapping Eswatini
1 Mountains Speak Our plane flies Over the Makhonjwa Mountains, Which formed the valleys and gorges of Swaziland. I marvel at how they carry age, Billions of years, stratified layers Beneath the green-hued rock. And I think of home Over eight thousand miles away, The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Lush green in summer, Waiting for this new day to arrive. These misty African mountains, Cradling humanity, confound speech. We have come to bring words, But I can hardly untie my tongue In the presence of their majesty. 2 Minerva Lab Theater, Mbabane We had come to bring words To the center of Swazi culture,…
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Friends Who Just Met
“We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s business. We are each other’s magnitude and bond” -From “Paul Robeson” by Gwendolyn Brooks From the beginning, everything seemed so familiar. Joanne and I had arrived at the theater early Monday morning to meet with local poets who had signed up for this two-day workshop. Joanne was the highly-touted teacher from the far-away United States, and the Eswatini poets came expecting to receive from this prolific scholar furious flower-like nuggets that would enhance their craft. Except for a janitor and a couple of poets who were in the theater when we arrived, the building was desolate. Within half an…
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Dispatches from 2019 Furious Flower Summer Legacy Seminars
Interview with Prof. Lauren K. Alleyne Why did Furious Flower select Giovanni for this particular honor? The Summer Legacy Seminars are designed to recognize distinguished Black poets who have contributed to American letters by producing a substantial body of work, and Nikki is a highly decorated Black literary and cultural icon with over 30 books, so her qualification in that way made her an easy choice. More importantly, though, the goal of the seminar is to ensure that these writers’ literary legacy is continued through curricular inclusion and critical consideration. There is a dearth of scholarly work on Nikki Giovanni—in the words of Maryemma Graham, Nikki is a poet who…
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Deeper Than Double: Nikki Giovanni and her Appalachian Elders
Reflections by Affrilachian Poet Asha French on a talk given by Nikki Giovanni at the 2019 Furious Flower Summer Legacy Seminars honoring the life and work of Giovanni. “Right now, if you were driving… Well, nobody has flat tires anymore. But if you had a flat tire in the old days when people had flat tires, the best place to be was in Appalachia.” The world-renowned Nikki Giovanni is “caping” for Appalachia, and her “you” is me—a Black woman who, before talking with Giovanni, might have been afraid to stop alone in any Appalachian “old day” with four good tires. My “really?” betrayed the conditioning Giovanni works to undo. “Oh,…
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Interview with Prof. Amy Alvarez
What inspired you to attend the 2019 Furious Flower Summer Legacy Seminars? I attended Furious Flower’s summer seminar on Nikki Giovanni to deepen my understanding of what it means to be a black Appalachian poet. I have read Nikki’s work since girlhood, starting with Spin A Soft Black Song, a book gifted to me by my aunt. Did the experience meet your expectations? My experience at the seminar went beyond what I could have expected. I knew I would learn and grow as a poet and educator. I knew I would meet incredibly talented writers and educators from all over the nation. I knew I would get to speak with Giovanni herself. The…