Acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni will be laid to rest in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery. The author was born in Knoxville, Tenn., but grew up in Lincoln Heights. She died Dec. 9 at age 81.
A public graveside burial service will be held Thursday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m., according to a release on behalf of her family.
Giovanni, dubbed the "Princess of Black Poetry," died in a Virginia hospital of complications related to cancer. She'd fought the disease on and off since the 1990s. Her family said she died peacefully with her life-long partner and wife, Virginia Fowler, at her side.
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She's survived by her wife and son, Thomas Giovanni; her granddaughter, Kai Giovanni; two cousins, Haynes Ford and Allison (Pat) Ragan; and her nephew, Christopher Black.
"We will forever feel blessed to have shared a legacy and love with our dear cousin," said Allison Ragan on behalf of the family.
The 'Princess of Black Poetry'
Giovanni's writings in the 1960s quickly cemented her as a leading figure in the Black Arts and Civil Rights movements. She wrote about racial equality, and advocated for gender equality. With dozens of poetry collections under her belt, she was working on getting her last book of poetry out when she died. It's still set to come out next year, titled “THE LAST BOOK.”
Born Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. in Tennessee in 1943, Giovanni moved with her family to Ohio around the age of four. Her older sister nicknamed her Nikki. The family settled first in Wyoming, then moved next door to Lincoln Heights during its early days as one of the first municipalities founded by Black residents. She recalled her youth there to fellow author Kathy Y. Wilson in a 2011 Cincinnati Magazine interview.
"We bought a home in Lincoln Heights on Jackson Street and we moved there for a long time, and then we bought a house on Congress Street," she told Wilson. "Lincoln Heights to me was a lovely place. When I was growing up it was a working-class community. I went to St. Simon's and I walked to school every day, which I liked. We had Neal's Grocery Store — he was a veteran — when we lived on Jackson Street."
RELATED: Renowned poet and Black arts movement icon Nikki Giovanni dies at 81
Her early works focused heavily on Black liberation, the Civil Rights movement and related themes. She grew in stature as the 1970s progressed, with national television interviews with figures like James Baldwin and Muhammad Ali, the landmark album "The Truth is on its Way" and high-profile poetry readings and lecture appearances to her credit.
As she became more well known, her work shifted to focus on themes of love, family and Black joy.
Giovanni served as a University Distinguished Professor in the English Department at Virginia Tech. Giovanni, an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and earned of hundreds of awards and honors.
"We will be forever grateful for the unconditional time she gave to us, to all her literary children across the writerly world,” said friend and fellow author, Kwame Alexander, in the release.
WVXU's Nick Swartsell contributed to this report.
