18 pages • 36 minutes read •
Dreams
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Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
"The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes (1925)
Hughes was a central member of the Harlem Renaissance, and “The Weary Blues,” as with Giovanni’s “Dreams,” centers around race and music. In Giovanni’s poem, the speaker’s younger self dreams of becoming a singer in the Raelettes. In Hughes’s poem, the speaker watches a blues musician in a dilapidated space.
Both poems express melancholy, and Hughes’s poem explicitly portrays the sadness of the Black performer. The blues musician is weary and unhappy. He wishes he was dead. The miserable life of the blues singer reinforces the wisdom of Giovanni’s speaker, who chose to become something more sensible than an entertainer.
“Knoxville, Tennessee” by Nikki Giovanni (1968)
Like “Dreams,” “Knoxville, Tennessee” appeared in Black Judgement. It’s an autobiographical, well-known poem, and Giovanni’s speaker has much in common with Giovanni. Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and her grandparents lived there.
As with “Dreams,” “Knoxville, Tennessee” has an exuberant and innocent tone. The poem uses repetition and repeats “and” to convey the joyous rush of things the speaker can eat and do in Knoxville. Like “Dreams,” the poem doesn’t stop for stanza breaks—it’s one big stanza.
"Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward (Among them Nora and Henry III)" by Gwendolyn Brooks (1991)
Brooks is a canonized poet who became inspired by the Black Arts Movement. It galvanized her to leave the big publisher Harper & Row and start publishing with the Black-owned Broadside Press. In “Speech to the Young,” Brooks addresses young people and their imputed demand for excitement and thrills. She warns them about living only for battles and dramatic finales. She advises them to “[l]ive in the along” (Line 12).
Giovanni’s speaker heeds Brooks’s advice. She drops her dream of impractical stardom and discovers the inspiration of cultivating a thoughtful and harmonious existence. Arguably, Giovanni’s speaker figures out how to “[l]ive in the along.”
Further Literary Resources
Gemini by Nikki Giovanni (1972)
Gemini is the autobiography Giovanni published that documents her first 25 years on Earth. She tells stories from her childhood, discusses racism, and talks about musicians like Aretha Franklin. In the book, the reader might be able to discern how Giovanni “grew and matured” and “became more sensible” (Lines 14-15).
In Gemini, Giovanni brings up the word power. She says, “Power only means the ability to have control over your life” (31). In “Dreams,” the speaker figures out how to control her life—stardom isn’t the way.
There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce by Morgan Parker (2017)
The title of Morgan Parker’s poetry collection puts her in conversation with Giovanni’s poem. While Marjorie Hendricks captivates the speaker of Giovanni’s poem, Beyonce Knowles preoccupies the speaker in Parker’s poems.
Like Giovanni’s speaker, Parker’s speaker sees the pitfalls and distortions of celebrity and tries to figure out how to settle down and lead a holistic existence. In “Dreams,” the transition happens rather neatly. In Parker’s poems, the transformation is less linear and more fraught.
“To Be Happy, Hide From the Spotlight” by Arthur C. Brooks (2021)
In an article for The Atlantic, the social scientist Arthur C. Brooks unpacks society’s attraction toward fame. The piece brings Giovanni’s poem into a broader context. Like Giovanni’s younger self, children across the United States dream of stardom. A 2012 study said fame was the primary goal for kids in the age range between 10 and 12. Brooks quotes famous writers and poets, like John Milton and Emily Dickinson, who warn against fame. Giovanni’s speaker also realizes the perils of the spotlight.
Listen to Poem
Hear Nikki Giovanni read her lyric, confessional poem, and notice how, when she reaches the song lyrics, she sings them.
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By Nikki Giovanni
