The Artist's Statement Episode 5 features legendary poet Nikki Giovanni. She discusses the importance of spirituals as inspiration for her work and how artist's from poets to novelists to dancers inhabit truth. Giovanni recounts her early days as an activist and writer along her path to success, including her time at Fisk University. The conversation touches on space travel, her experiences as an interviewer with the television series "Soul!", the Black Lives Matter movement, children's literature, and the importance of water. Giovanni reads poems "Baby West," "Atrocities, and "Make Me Rain."

Hosted by Davin Malasarn.

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