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Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni, Jr., born in Knoxville, Tennessee, is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Over the past thirty years, Nikki’s outspokenness, in her writing and in person, has brought the eyes of the world upon her. One of the most widely read American poets, she prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." Giovanni remains as determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality. Always insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it, she has maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black community. Her focus is on the individual, specifically, on the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others. Nikki Giovanni has written more than two dozen books, including volumes of poetry, illustrated children’s books, and three collections of essays. Her book Racism 101 includes bold, controversial essays about the situation of Americans on all sides of various race issues. She has received 21 honorary doctorates and a host of other awards, including "Woman of the Year" awards from three different magazines as well as Governors’ Awards in the Arts from both Tennessee and Virginia. Her three most recent volumes of poetry, Love Poems, Blues: For All the Changes and Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, were winners of the NAACP Image Award, in 1998, 2000, and 2003. Since 1987, she has taught writing and literature at Virginia Tech, where she is a University Distinguished Professor. As a devoted and passionate writer, teacher, and speaker, she inspires not only her students, but also readers and audiences nationwide. The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, a spoken-word CD, was a finalist for the 2003 Grammy Award in the category of spoken word. If you would like to visit her web page or learn more about her please visit: www.nikki-giovanni.com

My interview with Nikki Giovanni:
 

• What is your definition of creativity?

-Nikki Giovanni: The ability to think outside the box—in any and all fields of human endeavor.

• Do you think creativity is something that a person is born with - or do you think creativity is developed?

-Nikki Giovanni: I agree with Rousseau:  we are born a clean sheet of paper (if I may  paraphrase) and then we and others begin to write on it.

• At what point in your life did you realize that you have creative talent?

-Nikki Giovanni: It’s an existential thing.

• Have you ever felt that your creative endeavors motivate other people to become interested in your field? Explain.

-Nikki Giovanni: My field, writing, (and especially poetry) has always been of great interest.

• What (or who) has been your biggest inspiration in keeping your creativity energy going?

-Nikki Giovanni: My grandmother and those wonderful women of her generation.

• How (and when) did you come to feel that you are successful in your creative endeavors?

-Nikki Giovanni: I am successful and was successful when the first poem was written.   The success is in the doing.

• What do you intend to achieve through your creative works?

-Nikki Giovanni: Self-expression and another way of looking at the world.

• If you had the opportunity, what creative person (living or dead) would you like to work with? Why?

-Nikki Giovanni: I always wanted to meet Lorraine Hansberry because she is brilliant and I think she would be fun to have dinner with.  I would also like to have met Phillis Wheatley just to tell her she needed to divorce that man.

• Do you have skills that you wish to develop or talents you wish to perfect? Explain.

-Nikki Giovanni: I wish I could swim and I wish I knew how to speak Spanish.

• Think back to your childhood. What did you hope to become as an adult?

-Nikki Giovanni: I hate questions like that.

• How have the life events you have experienced influenced your creative style and ability?

-Nikki Giovanni: Life influences everything.

• If you knew that you had only one last opportunity to express yourself creatively, what message would you want to convey to others?

-Nikki Giovanni: Think for yourself.

My interview with Web Page Designer: Dan Petruzzi

I have always been into music as long as i can remember.  One of my favorite hobbies that accompanies the music experience is to search the web for more information about it (e.g. concerts, info about artists, release dates etc.).  one of the pages that is a good resource for not only music related information but also current issues is the okayplayer website.  It contains information about artists that are on this record label, political, current event information and a lot more.  So when the class was given an the assignment to interview a web designer i thought that it would be a good idea to find out who was behind the images on this page.  Here is how the interview with the page's designer: Dan Petruzzi went...

Hi Tara.

Here ya go...

1. How (and when) did you come to feel that you are successful 

in your creative endeavors?

-Dan Petruzzi: When there are no more adjustments left to make!  Some people might say

that you never reach that point but I have worked on many projects when

I've gone through each aspect over and over until I was completely happy

with it and that is how and when I come to feel that I have been

successful.

2. What is your definition of creativity?

-Dan Petruzzi:Originally imaginative expressiveness.

Hope this works for ya!