Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid
by Nikki Giovanni
Buy on AmazonNikki Giovanni's poetry has spurred movements and inspired songs, turned hearts and informed generations. She's been hailed as a healer and as a national treasure. But Giovanni's heart resides in the everyday, where family and lovers gather, friends commune, and those no longer with us are remembered. And at every gathering there is food—food as sustenance, food as aphrodisiac, food as memory. A pot of beans is flavored with her mother's sighs—this sigh part cardamom, that one the essence of clove; a lover requests a banquet as an affirmation of ongoing passion; homage is paid to the most time-honored appetizer: soup.…
Recommended by
"At 70 years old, poet Nikki Giovanni is loved around the world for her beautiful writing about home, family and food. Chasing Utopia sounds existential and distant, but the title actually refers to her very real search for an exclusive — an elusive — beer. I love that she keeps some humor in the book of poetry and essays, even as she says her mother’s death allowed her to dig deep into the dark parts of her past. My favorite poem in the book is “Podcast for Bicycles,” which you’ll love even if you didn’t major in English."
NPR Books We Love — 2013 · apps.npr.org