[In the following review, Rosenberg praises Giovanni's style and skill in Ego-Tripping.]

In a previous book, Spin a Soft Black Song, Miss Giovanni used warm, unaffected language to describe being young and black. In Ego-Tripping, which has George Ford's illustrations reflecting strength and good feeling, the poems are directed at older readers able to handle heavier subjects and more ambitious poetry. Several are familiar from anthologies and previous works while others are published here for the first time. They are sly and seductive, freewheeling and winsome, tough, sure and proud. Miss Giovanni pursues both personal and cultural matters: loneliness, private dreams, love and survival, all with a boundless enthusiasm for the essences of black life. In the best poems, language and spirit rebound and join forces. The title poem is a celebration of African heritage and modern dignity.

     I was born in the congo
     I walked to the fertile crescent and built the sphinx
     I designed a pyramid so
       tough that a star that
       only glows every one
       hundred years falls into
       the center giving divine
       perfect light
     I am bad

She can chide herself for "radical dreams," joke about more common ones, admit with wry humor

    … as i grew and matured
    i became more sensible
    and decided i would
    settle down
    and just become
    a sweet inspiration

Throughout the book Miss Giovanni shares her razor-sharp perceptions with energy and passion.