A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter

Life doesn’t begin and end with the memory of family trauma or past scars, as evidenced by this intimate collection from poet and activist Giovanni (Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid). Her clear-eyed and heartfelt work reflects on how internal and external influences shaped her artistic journey. For Giovanni, poetry is not a self-contained medium. Rather, it’s a subtle and nuanced mosaic pieced together from the challenges of choosing to truly live rather than succumb to the stasis of merely existing. In a long prose poem that doubles as a brief biographical sketch, Giovanni writes, “It seems to me I’ve always been a small business. Now my business is poetry.” For Giovanni, poetry wouldn’t be possible without a self-propelled work ethic born out of the instability and violence she experienced in her youth. She also devotes several pieces to the late Maya Angelou, her friend and peer. Giovanni captures Angelou’s cultural impact and ability to hold court with a wide variety of thinkers, artists, and celebrities: “When they make the movie Doc: The Story of Maya Angelou half the fun will be who appears at the table.” Giovanni willingly confronts the uglier moments of her childhood while retaining a belief in the goodness of the human spirit. [em](Oct.) [/em]