Renée Watson, a friend and novelist, said Giovanni, 81, passed away on Monday with her lifelong companion, Virginia “Ginney” Fowler, at her side.
Fellow poet Kwame Alexander told US media, “We will always be grateful for the unconditional time she gave to us, to all her literary children across the writerly world.”
The New Yorker referred to Giovanni as “one of the most important artist-intellectuals of the twentieth century” because of her work on social concerns and civil rights.
Throughout her decades-long career, Giovanni—who was born Yolanda Cornelia Giovanni, Jr. in 1943—received numerous honors, including seven NAACP awards.
