Nikki Giovanni is an American literary giant who truly beat her own path to greatness. In 1967, having just graduated from Fisk University with a B.A. in history, she created Cincinnati’s first Black Arts Festival. Unable to find anyone to publish her poetry, she self-published her first collection, “Black Feeling Black Talk,” which went on to sell over 10,000 copies in its first year alone. In 1970 she created her own company, Niktom Ltd., a publishing cooperative focused on highlighting the work of Black women.

Since then she has written two dozen books, including volumes of poetry, illustrated children’s books and three collections of essays. She is the recipient of countless honors and awards, including the Langston Hughes Award, several NAACP Image Awards, a place on Oprah Winfrey’s list of 25 living legends, and even a Grammy nomination. Having taught and lectured at universities all over the world, she is currently a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, where she has been teaching since 1987.

In this interview with Rob Kramer, she shares the infectious love of life, learning, history and story-telling that have made her one of America’s most beloved and admired poets.