Giovanni was born in Knoxville and chose to launch her new book here. "On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History Through the Spirituals" honors the way slaves used gospels to give them hope and strength during the darkest of times. Giovanni's poems appear in almost every literary anthology focusing on modern writers. She's a veteran of the civil rights movement and has a strong sense of history. Her poetry is tough, often urban, and politically radical. Like her message or not, like Rap music or not, she sure has a way with words and she speaks for a lot of people.