SurMadam

I began to read Nikki Giovanni’s work the summer I turned 13 and was visiting my uncle in Seattle.  I was a lonely and depressed kid; I just wanted to stay inside and read.  Nikki’s books, specifically Gemini and The Selected Poems…were great company.  One day after coming back from a forced play date, I noticed my books were gone.  My uncle’s White wife told me she returned the books to the library and threatened to discipline me if she caught me reading “such vulgar filth” again.