1. How has the power of words and poetry shaped your work?
Poetry is my first language, my mother tongue. For me, there is no work to speak of outside of this genre. Words are powerful, but poetry is the distillation of that power. It is my vehicle for processing what goes on in the world, and poetry is the foundation of all my storytelling. Even my prose is dotted with lyrical language. No matter what I write, poetry always finds its way in.
2. Who are the authors and historical voices who have influenced you?
James Baldwin, my first mentor, tops the list. Khalil Gibran and Doris Lessing follow close behind. Then came Langston Hughes, Henry Dumas, Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Hamilton, and Katherine Paterson. I also have to mention Edgar Lee Masters because, if it weren't for his Spoon River Anthology, I don't know that I would have believed in the boundless possibilities of the novel in verse as early in the game as I did. Bronx Masquerade, written in eighteen different voices, grew from the confidence I gleaned while reading Spoon River. From that point on, writing novels in verse became my jam.
3. What is your message for teachers and K-12 students in our current world?
That depends, of course, on the particular book. Some of my stories are light and joy-filled, others are heavier in subject matter and tone. In general, though, my message is this: There is cause for hope and reason for joy in this world, and I say this as one whose childhood was marred by trauma, by abuse, by proximity to alcoholism and paranoid schizophrenia. Through it all, by God's grace, I learned that hope—apologies to Emily Dickenson—is sturdier and more substantial by far than a feather. Today's young readers need to know that, despite the current tumult in the world, there is yet cause for hope and reason for joy. If readers walk away from my books having grasped either of those ideas, I'm happy.
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2022 CSK Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2020 ALAN Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, the 2017 Children's Literature Legacy Medal for contributions to literature for children, the 2016 Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. The author of Coretta Scott King Author Award-winner Bronx Masquerade, and recipient of five Coretta Scott King Author Honors, her most recent titles include the YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults title Between the Lines, companion to Bronx Masquerade, NCTE Notable Book Words With Wings, the 2018 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book Garvey's Choice, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor One Last Word, Printz Honor and Sibert Honor Ordinary Hazards, a memoir in verse, ALA Notable Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance, ALA Notable Southwest Sunrise, Kirkus Best Book Bedtime for Sweet Creatures, and IMAGE Award Nominee Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice. Ms. Grimes lives in Corona, California.
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