Nikki Giovanni is a Distinguished Professor in the English department at Virginia Tech. She has written and edited numerous books of poetry and works for children, including “Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea,” “Black Feeling, Black Talk, Black Judgment,” and “The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni.” Her latest work is “Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid.” This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Nikki Giovanni — Soul Food, Sex, and Space.” Find more at onbeing.org.