NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – World-renowned poet, civil rights activist and Fisk University graduate Nikki Giovanni died Monday at age 81.

University officials mourned the loss of the Knoxville native on social media.

“Through her poetry, she has weaved stories of Black resilience, beauty, and liberation, reminding us that our voices have infinite power and that our truths deserve to be told,” the statement reads in part. “Her spirit is forever etched into the soul of Fisk, an eternal light guiding us toward justice, creativity and authenticity.”

RELATED: Nikki Giovanni, famed Knoxville poet, dies at 81: reports

News 2 spoke with Rodney Curry, a Fisk University student, who said Giovanni has been an inspiration to students for years.

“We have a saying here that we didn’t choose Fisk, Fisk chose us,” Curry said. “And I really feel like it really started with her.”

In 2021, the university named a lecture series in its writing center after Giovanni as a testament to its commitment to students. Giovanni donated to the university’s English department and returned several times to teach creative writing workshops. When she came to give a speech at the Fisk Anniversary Day, she also met with individual honors students.

“She focused her efforts on compassion and self-love and defining through the self who we are and who our students are,” Dr. Holly Hamby, the writing center director.

Giovanni was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She is also known for poems such as “Ego-tripping {there may be a reason why)” and “Knoxville, Tennessee”; She is also the author of more than 10 children’s books. Her literary career served as an inspiration to others in English education, including Dr. Zanice Bond.

Bond told News 2 she met Giovanni in the early 1990s while attending Tennessee State University before becoming an English professor at Tuskegee University. Her teaching, Bond said, was inspired by the late poet.

Homicide victims are honored at Montgomery County’s annual memorial service

“I – always – bring poets and writers from the black arts movement into class, and Nikki is certainly one of them,” Bond said. “Another generation of scholars and thinkers will view her work not only as empowering black women, but will also view her in terms of environmental issues and… as an Affrilachian writer.”

At the time of publication, there were no Celebration of Life announcements at Fisk University.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports and streaming video, visit WKRN News 2.