Coffee with the Dean: Nikki Giovanni

Good afternoon. I'm Laura Bell. Not eat the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at a human sciences at Virginia Tech. And I'm so delighted to be here for this episode of copy with the dean with renowned poet Nikki Giovanni. Now, Nikki and I are both in our own homes. And so in a guidance, accordance with public health guidelines, it's safe for us to remove our masks now and begin our conversation. It's great to see you. And let me, let's first begin with a tell us what I am drinking a lovely chai tea this afternoon out of my VT mug from the Center for rhetoric in society. And what is your beverage of choice today? I'm sorry, I just have a regular allele coffee leg. And now, after date, you've given me a Z2 yet. I don't seem to have of eating. What will I have to fix that will send you a nice College one. So let's just dive right in. You. That's declared, I come from a long line of story challenges. Would you tell us a bit about the role of storytelling in your family? I think learn not only in my family, but I think the black community as a whole history of storytelling. Because if we go back a couple of 100 years, what we had was people were not allowed to read and write. So the only way they can carry the information they wanted their children and grandchildren. And maybe if they were lucky out great grandchildren to have issue song. So we have the spiritual and through storytelling. And of course I would sit there, my great grandmother, whom we call mom i