17 pages • 34 minutes read
Nikki GiovanniQuilts
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Aging
Aging is the primary motif of “Quilts.” Discussing the act of aging is a bold move in poetry—and art in general—as the elderly are excluded from the mainstream definitions of beauty and artistic subjecthood. Ageism—or discrimination against people based on their age—remains prevalent in many areas of society. This poem treats age with tenderness. In fact, the speaker wants to help “some child” or “some old person” (Lines 19-20) warm up with her words.
Giovanni herself embraces her elder poet status in a New York Times interview from 2020: “I recommend old age,” she said. “There’s just nothing as wonderful as knowing you have done your job” (Harris 2). Because her poetry accomplished its aims, she can keep adding to her legacy through new work, and she continues to pass on her wisdom to the next generation of writers through teaching; she enjoys the benefits of age. This poem asks the reader to accept themselves as they age and accept a new purpose when it presents itself.
Quilts
A quilt is a blanket sewn together from multiple patches or patterns. Multiple people can make the patches. When the patches are put together, they represent how the people that made each patch come together in one piece of art. Or the quilt can be made by one person, with each patch telling a different story crafted by the quilter. However a quilt is made, the final product demonstrates a patchwork of experiences, images, and materials.
It is apt that Giovanni chose a quilt for the end product of her poem because quilts were traditionally made with cherished cloth that could no longer be worn or used for its original purpose. The patches of a quilt tell their own story, so each piece of fabric in a quilt has a purpose. Viewing Sally Seller’s quilt work can help the reader understand the artistic labor of quilting.
Black Womanhood
Quilting has a long tradition in African American communities. One of the world’s most famous quilters was Harriet Powers, known for her story quilt that recorded events from local history and the Bible. Contemporary quilters follow this tradition of storytelling about community through their art.
The quilting craft is passed down from parent to child—traditionally from mother to daughter, since sewing was and is still mostly considered women’s work. Women come together in large groups to quilt, tell stories, and share their talents with each other.
Giovanni’s writing celebrates Black communities and Black womanhood, so this tradition of quilting among Black women connects with her own identity as a poet. She applies her artistic craft as a poet to praise a deeply communal art form.
Related Titles
By Nikki Giovanni
