Nikki Giovanni—one of the great poets of any generation—still has much to impart in Make Me Rain, her hybrid autobiography of poems and prose ... there’s a refreshing discordance in reading Giovanni’s newest and especially personal collection ... Reading these poems feels like an intimate conversation with the writer in a sunlit room, with famous and familial names wandering through the narratives ... Giovanni’s power is in her resilience and in her commitment to the word and her world, to her influences, peers and literary progeny. These works are shaped by her vantage point at this stage of her life, offering a resistance that is led by the indestructible power of love, community and language ... History matters. Storytelling matters. Who we choose to be matters. Nikki Giovanni—this collection—reminds us of why.
Giovanni’s latest collection is her finest to date ... Imbued with the classic, accessible, and deeply empathetic style of this venerated American poet, these works touch on topics ranging from aging, memories of childhood, elegies for loved ones who have passed, and pride in Black heritage ... Giovanni’s ability to pare down complex subjects in exquisitely succinct poetic forms makes her work timeless and profoundly resonant for both poetry aficionados and casual readers.
In her new collection of poetry and prose, Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose, her unique voice, bold yet tender, is on display again with a new relevance ... The writing in Make Me Rain is quintessential Giovanni, with the mixture of pride and brashness, honesty and playfulness that is her trademark. The title seems to portend a more contemplative understanding of the world, one that is intensely personal ... One of the most remarkable qualities of Giovanni’s poetry is that it can be direct and uncompromising while also being deeply honest and utterly human.
One of America’s most celebrated poets challenges us with this powerful and deeply personal collection of verse that speaks to the injustices of society while illuminating the depths of her own heart ... As sharp and outspoken as ever, this artist long hailed as a healer and a sage returns with this profound book of poetry in which she continues to call attention to injustice and give readers an unfiltered look into the most private parts of herself ... Stirring, provocative and resonant, the poems in Make Me Rain pierce the heart and nourish the soul.
The most memorable moments in the collection reveal the cutting directness that made her a laureate of the Black Arts Movement ... Such pleasurable jolts offset the collection’s more rhetorically slack moments and reinforce Giovanni’s unapologetic commitment to documenting both injustice and joy.
