Don’t do what you do very well very well and enjoy it – this phrase is the “simple” lesson Nikki Giovanni left in her poem called “When I Die” (1972). This lecture aims to pay tribute to Nikki Giovanni, as well as to show how her legacy has been gradually spreading throughout Brazil in recent years. How can Nikki Giovanni’s translations weaken transnational epistemicide? How can the revolutionary force of a single author encourage the writing and life dynamics of other people in the African diaspora? How can writing transform into processes of healing and love for life? These questions will be put on the agenda in order to measure the reach of Nikki Giovanni’s career beyond the United States, as well as the importance of her poetry as a “Black political territory” (Smith, 2015). Through this presentation, we will discuss Nikki Giovanni’s artistic creations and those of other Black Brazilian writers & intellectuals in contemporary times.

Desirée dos Santos is currently finishing up her PhD in Literature at the Federal University of Santa Catarina focused in annotated translations of poems written by Nikki Giovanni. Due to winning a fellowship called “Atlantics - Beatriz Nascimento Women in Science Program” sponsored by the CNPq and the Ministry of Racial Equality in Brazil, she is a visiting researcher at Tulane University (New Orleans/US).

Co-Sponsco-sponsors: The Dept of Spanish & Portguese;Center for Latin American Studiesors- , CNPq, CAPES, UFSC, Tulane University and Ministério da Igualdade Racial.