In Good Company:
Two Voices, Shared Spaces
Nikki Giovanni
Known as the “Documentarian of the Black spirit,” Nikki Giovanni was a major literary voice for more than 60 years, from her rise in 1968 as the “Poet of the Black Revolution” to her death in 2024.
Over time, her work expanded beyond political poetry to include personal writing and children’s books, including Gemini, which was nominated for a National Book Award. She also spent 35 years teaching at Virginia Tech and mentoring young writers.
Since her death, her legacy has continued to grow, with a posthumous 2025 Frost Medal and a 2026 immersive exhibit celebrating her life and work.
Amanda Gorman
Amanda Gorman, born March 7, 1998, is one of the most influential poets of her generation. Raised in Los Angeles, she turned a childhood speech impediment into a gift for language and became the first National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017.
After graduating from Harvard in 2020, she gained worldwide attention as the youngest poet to perform at a U.S. presidential inauguration, reading “The Hill We Climb” in 2021.
In recent years, her work has continued to honor both national movements and personal tragedies, keeping her at the center of American literature and activism.
