Friends of Knox County Public Library, the Library Society of the University of Tennessee, the Knox County Public Library, Union Ave Books and WUOT wil host “An Evening with Nikki Giovanni,” the widely acclaimed poet and Knoxville native. Giovanni will present the 2018 Wilma Dykeman Stokely Memorial Lecture. The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required. Copies of Giovanni’s books will be available for purchase.

Giovanni, who has written poetry for 50 years, is noted for her plainspoken and sometimes humorous insight into her extraordinary life, most recently revealed in her 2017 collection of poems, “A Good Cry: What We Learn from Tears and Laughter.”  Giovanni has published 27 books and received 19 honorary degrees from colleges and universities as well as numerous awards for her artistic and humanitarian achievements. She also was the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award.