Nikki Giovanni died this week, at the age of eighty-one, as that rarest of things: a best-selling poet. Her work burst onto the scene in the nineteen-sixties already fully formed—it was concerned, as much of the Black Arts poetry of the day was,

A leader in the Black Arts movement, and a powerful advocate for Black women writers has passed away after a battle with lung cancer.

Nikki Giovanni was a renowned poet and activist for the Black and LGBTQ+ community. She died at age 81, surrounded by family. Here's what to know.