Chasing Utopia

Nikki Giovannis poetry has spurred movements and inspired songs, turned hearts and informed generations. Shes been hailed as a healer and as a national treasure. But Giovannis 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 foodfood as sustenance, food as aphrodisiac, food as memory. A pot of beans is flavored with her mothers sighsthis 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.With Chasing Utopia, Giovanni demands that the prosaicflowers, birdsong, win-terbe seen as poetic, and reaffirms once again why she is as energetic, remarkable (Gwendolyn Brooks), wonderful (Marian Wright Edelman),outspoken, prolific, energetic (New York Times), and relevant as ever.