Winter
Nikki Giovanni’s poem ‘‘Winter’’ was published
in 1978 and included in her eighth poetry collec-
tion,Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day. ‘‘Winter’’ is a
twelve-line, three stanza, free verse poem, with
no punctuation or rhyme scheme. For the most
part, the poems inCotton Candy on a Rainy Day
are about isolation and loneliness. They were
written after the civil rights movement of the
1960s and early 1970s appeared to have failed
and efforts to secure autonomy and equal rights
for African Americans seemed to be stalled. In
‘‘Winter,’’ however, Giovanni looks toward the
future and turns her back on the past. The allegory
of preparing for the winter cold is a reminder that
African Americans shouldalsobepreparedfor
whatever might happen next in their struggle for
equal rights. ‘‘Winter’’ also suggests the promise of
anewbeginningandabetterworldtoemerge
from the civil rights struggle. ‘‘Winter’’ is included
in bothThe Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni
(1996) andThe Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni
(2007).
Author Biography
Born Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni on June 7, 1943,
Nikki Giovanni grew up in Lincoln Heights, a
predominately black suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio,
although she frequently visited Knoxville, Tennes-
see, the city of her birth and the home of her
295NIKKI GIOVANNI
1978