Nikki (Yolande Cornelia) Giovanni Has Made An Enormous Impact On Afric

Nikki (Yolande Cornelia) Giovanni has made an enormous impact on African American literature. She uses her own experiences to write wonderful poetry. In the poem Nikki-Rosa, Nikki Giovanni writes the opposite about her growing up in her family. When I first read this poem, I pictured a poverty-stricken family living in a small apartment, much like the Younger family in A Raisin in the Sun. Evidently, the family is poor because they have no inside toilet and take baths in one of those/ big tubs that folk in chicago barbecue in (10-11). The family is not as concerned about poverty as they are for their love for one another, And though you're poor it isn't poverty that concerns you and though they fought a lot it isn't your father's drinking that makes any difference but only that everybody is together and you and your sister have happy birthdays and very good Christmasses (20-26) The poem reveals a good family does have its problems. I got the feeling the children in the poem loved living where they lived although their parents weren't the richest, or they didn't live in the nicest house. The children realized that there was more to life than having a pleasant house and delightful things. The children in the poem realize that family life is more important than material objects. The poem Nikki-Rosa was written based on the life of Nikki Giovanni. Nikki Giovanni's childhood was very much different that the one described in the poem. Giovanni was raised in a middle class family, although she did learn of poverty from her parents who happened to be social workers (Wiedemann 1500). Her childhood could be described as very happy (Great 178). Giovanni's world in her poetry is an extension of her real life. Often, she sees herself existing among tensions. Biographers who write about Nikki Giovanni always comment on the poverty of the family, her parent's fighting, and note her father's alcoholism, but almost never comment on the closeness of her family or the richness of a strong, supportive family (Wiedemann 1499). [I]t isn't your father's drinking that makes any difference/ but only that everybody is together (23-24). This line in the poem sums up very well the feeling of family in the home of Nikki Giovanni during her childhood. The poem is not autobiographical of Giovanni's life, but it does parallel the development of her radical conscious (Wiedemann 1500). Nikki-Rosa is a typical example of a poem by Nikki Giovanni. She writes about what she knows and what she has experienced. The poetry of Giovanni is related to issues African-Americans face on a daily basis. According to Don L. Lee, she knows the need for Black awareness, unity, and, solidarity; she has lived through it, and knows a change can be affected. (182) Nikki Giovanni's poetry contains no punctuation, symbolizing a continuous thought (Wiedemann 1499). Typically there is no form in her poetry. A wide audience has read her poems because of the simplicity of the language used and the imagery of everyday life (Wiedemann 1499). Giovanni rarely uses difficult symbols and avoids the usage of complex vocabulary to convey the meaning of her poetry, especially Nikki-Rosa (Wiedemann 1500). Barbara Wiedemann comments that Nikki-Rosa hints at the division of whites and blacks (1500). In Wiedemann's interview with Giovanni, she states that whites cannot understand the black experience, and because of the power structure in America, whites should be held accountable for the poverty experienced by the black population. Giovanni believes differences in education cause poverty, a lack of social services, and discrimination. (1500) This poem, written the day after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death is supposed to represent a young person growing up in an impoverished family who later becomes a black activist. The Nikki in the poem is not Nikki Giovanni. However, Rosa is Rosa Parks, the same Rosa who, in 1955, refused to give up her bus seat to a white woman. Giovanni writes about these kinds of things because she herself has attended antiwar demonstrations, the Civil Rights Movement, and various riots throughout the nation. These and other events such as the assassinations of Mar tin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Robert Kennedy helped to radicalize Nikki Giovanni (Wiedemann 1500). Nikki Giovanni uses her knowledge of subjects

Concert Review essays

Concert Review essays When I found out I had to attend a concert, I wanted to try a get into a L.A. Philharmonic concert. I wanted to attend a performance in the new Disney Hall because I figured that I would probably not be interested in attending any more concerts in my lifetime. I wanted to at least experience a grand concert with a full orchestra playing the kind of music I had been recently studying. When I went to look for tickets, I was surprised and shocked to see the tickets that were left cost three hundred dollars. I eventually found a concert at the Norton Simon Museum for a lot less and covered two composers that I would be studying. I was excited and expected to see and hear a full orchestra for the first time. As I got out of my car and walked down the walkway to the entrance, I saw French Impressionists statues. And, as I walked through the glass door entrance, I was amazed to see a huge beautiful Cambodian statue. To the left of the museum, I was able to walk through different rooms to admire French, Cambodian, and European sculptures and art. As I walked into the concert hall, I was a little disappointed at the size. It was a very small room. On the stage I saw four chairs along with two tables draped with black Cambodian tablecloths. On top of those tables was a row of crystal wine glasses. At this point, I knew I was not going to see a full orchestra. In front of the stage I also saw two standing speakers, which really raised my curiosity. When I read the program I realized I was going to see a string quartet playing George Crumbs, Black Angels and Steve Reichs, Different Trains. As the string quartet began Crumbs piece, I felt a very eerie feeling. Since the strings were amplified, it felt like the music was transformed and jumped out at me. The music was very dissonant and had no melody. Although the music had this conflicting sound, I was very engaged with the player...

Alcohol and tobacco use in pregnancy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Alcohol and tobacco use in pregnancy - Essay Example A cigarette smoker is prone to withdrawal and nicotine addiction which makes the process of quitting smoking much difficult. Addiction is diagnosed when the smoking victim develops frequent use or compulsive seeking symptoms thus uses the substance without considering its adverse implication to health as well as other unwanted consequences. Alcohol on the other hand does not have addictive components in its ingredients. However, it depends with the mental perception of the person drinking. In this case, alcohol can be addictive in a certain capacity but does not have intense symptoms such as withdrawal. Therefore alcohol may be easy to quit with the right use of the correct mental and physical therapies. Smoking during pregnancy might result to a raise in future heart risk to the child. Mothers who smoke during the pregnancy period reduce the high-density lipoprotein which is also known as cholesterol in the baby’s body system. Cholesterol helps in the protection of the body against heart defects such as stroke and various heart diseases. Tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking have negative implication on the growth of the baby before and after birth. The weight of the baby after delivery is directly proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked during the pregnancy period (Stockman, 2012). The baby of a smoker may have an estimated weight of between 150 and 250 grams. The infants of smokers experience retardation in all gestation stages. Low birth weight of infants who are depicted to prenatal smoking is connected to low rate tissue development and fat-free masses. The use of alcohol by women during pregnancy has negative implications on the growth of the unborn child. ‘Fetal alcohol effects’ is a model used to refer to the aftermath implication of an infant in reaction to the alcohol in its system which is passed on to it by the alcoholic mother. One of the fetal alcohol effects is developmental delay and retarded