Poem For A Lady Whose Voice I Like

The Black Arts Movement was a social and literary movement of the 1960s responding to the Harlem Renaissance, which was pioneered by poets such as Langston Hughes. Members of the Black Arts Movement believed that Hughes and others were writing in a style that conformed to what white Americans wanted, rather than representing the styles of African Americans. Poets of the Black Arts Movement used a vernacular that was common in households and on the streets in the African American communities. They also broke rules of traditional academic and professional institutions, like using capital letters and proper punctuation. Lucille Clifton, Audre Lorde, June Jordan, and Sonia Sanchez were prominent members of the Black Arts Movement.

Women also began to sue for more power during the 1970s, in what was termed the Feminist Movement. Members of the movement worked for greater equality for women in the workplace, as well as an end to sexual predation and degradation. They wanted women to be treated as equals intellectually, economically, and socially, rather than as objects of sexual exploitation.

“Poem for a Lady Whose Voice I Like” exemplifies the style of the Black Arts Movement as well as values of the feminist movement. The opening line of the poem, “you ain’t got no talent” (Line 1), establishes the first speaker as someone who is outside of an academic or professional setting and uses common vernacular. It also sets up the dichotomy of a Black male person talking down to a Black female artist. It immediately roots the poem in time, place, and social structures.

When the speaker says, “they tell me plenty sisters / take care better business than you” (Lines 7-8), he is referring to African American women. During the 1970s especially, African Americans began intentionally celebrating Black culture as a backlash to their historic devaluing. People grew afros, began wearing African-inspired clothing and jewelry, and coined the term “black is beautiful.” Women referred to each other as “sisters” and men as “brothers,” as an expression of solidarity.

In the case of this poem, “he” is trying to use the term to hurt the “lady.” He compares the lady to her “sisters,” only to put her down as inferior by comparison, rather than to elevate her to their ranks. Though the man is likely African American himself, he uses his position as a man to degrade the woman—antithetical to the Black Arts Movement, which sought to elevate both men and women.

In Lines 12-14, he says, “if the white folks hadn’t been under / yo skirt and been giving you the big play / you’d a had to come on uptown like everybody else.” This language is also degrading on cultural and gender lines. To be “under / yo skirt” (Lines 12-13) implies that the “white folks” (Line 12) are using the female speaker’s sexuality for their own enjoyment and that she is letting them. It also implies that white people have more power than the speaker and that she needs them to make herself look better. To be “under / yo skirt” (Lines 12-13) might also imply they have their hands under her dress and are using her as a puppet. Because she is connected to white culture, or because the white audience members like her, she is able to go downtown, as opposed to “uptown,” meaning that she has a better place in the arts scene. In the cultural context of the 1970s, this would be known as “selling out.”

Nikki Giovanni’s work often references other members of the Black Arts movement and the civil rights movement. Giovanni was good friends, personally, with many prominent figures in both movements, including Nina Simone, a singer and civil rights activist who was popular during this era. She alludes to Simone’s song “Four Women” in the line “she will divide into four parts / that simone may sing a song” (Lines 15-16). Representing other women and championing their voices demonstrates the lady’s ethos and Giovanni’s values in upholding and celebrating other women. Giovanni wrote several other poems to or alluding to Nina Simone during Simone’s life and after her death. Giovanni still discusses Simone’s influence on her own work and the civil rights movement even after Simone’s death.