MAKE ME RAIN Poems & Prose

Nikki Giovanni's slightly raspy, slightly sibilant voice draws listeners into this important collection of poetry and prose. Letting her poet's sense guide her tempo, Giovanni wrings the humor, anger, and sorrow out of being Black in America. In "And So It Comes to This," Giovanni's mocking tone is the perfect match for a scathing indictment of white men and their obsession with a false supremacy. Her palpable anger recalls the death of Michael Brown in "Ferguson: the Musical," and her heart seems to be breaking as she describes "the brother" getting up in the dark to drive to the Million Man March. Warm tones express themes of quilts and songs and love. As Giovanni tells us, "All is transition and love is forever." S.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2020]