Close Talking: A Poetry Podcast

Episode #150 Dreams - Nikki Giovanni

01.14.2022 - By Cardboard Box Productions, Inc.Play

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Connor and Jack celebrate the 150th episode of Close Talking with a classic poem from a living legend - "Dreams" by Nikki Giovanni. They dig into poem's coming-of-age narrative discussing and along the way make musical references galore. Ray Charles and Marjorie Hendrix are just the tip of a harmonious iceberg in this wide-ranging conversation.

Learn more about Giovanni, here: https://nikki-giovanni.com/

Read the poem, here (or below): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48224/dreams-56d229494e255

Dreams

By: Nikki Giovanni

in my younger years

before i learned

black people aren’t

suppose to dream

i wanted to be

a raelet

and say “dr o wn d in my youn tears”

or “tal kin bout tal kin bout”

or marjorie hendricks and grind

all up against the mic

and scream

“baaaaaby nightandday

baaaaaby nightandday”

then as i grew and matured

i became more sensible

and decided i would

settle down

and just become

a sweet inspiration

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