One of America's most celebrated poets looks inward in this powerful collection, a rumination on her life and the people who have shaped herThe poetry of Nikki Giovanni has spurred movements, turned hearts and informed generations. She's been hailed as a firebrand, a radical, a healer, and a sage; a wise and courageous voice who has spoken out on the sensitive issues, including race and gender, that touch our national consciousness.As energetic and relevant as ever, Nikki now offers us an intimate, affecting, and illuminating look at her personal history and the mysteries of her own heart. In A Good Cry, she takes us into her confidence, describing the joy and peril of aging and recalling the violence that permeated her parents' marriage and her early life. She pays homage to the people who have given her life meaning and joy: her grandparents, who took her in and saved her life; the poets and thinkers who have influenced her; and the students who have surrounded her. Nikki also celebrates her good friend, Maya Angelou, and the many years of friendship, poetry, and kitchen-table laughter they shared before Angelou's death in 2014."I had no ideaGrandmother had to begA white man to let meenroll in Austin HighWhere I needed clothesFrom Miller and Rich'sShoes a coat and stuffAll I knew thenWas the soundOf my father hittingMy mother every SaturdayNight until I heardHer say 'Gus, pleaseDon't hit me.'And I knew my choice: Leave or kill himBoth were sadI am in the hospitalRoomWith yellow tulipsFrom Nancy and DianaAnd a beautiful bouquetFrom the English DepartmentI am trying to learnhow to cryIt's not that my lifehas been a lieBut that I repressedMy tears."-From Baby West