Nikky Finney
Encyclopedia
Nikky Finney is an award-winning American
poet
, and the Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor of English at the University of Kentucky
. An alumna of Talladega College
, and author of four books of poetry and a short story cycle, Finney’s commitment to social justice and cultural preservation is revealed through the themes of her work. Her numerous honors include the 2011 National Book Award
for Head Off & Split.
, Civil Rights
Attorney
and retired Chief Justice
of the state of South Carolina, and Frances Davenport Finney, elementary school teacher. Finney’s father, Justice Ernest Finney, Jr., began his career as a civil rights attorney, and in 1961, served as Head Legal Counsel for the Friendship 9, black junior college students arrested and charged when trying to desegregate
McCrory’s lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina
. In 1994, Ernest Finney, Jr., was appointed by the State Legislature as the first African-American Chief Justice
of South Carolina since Reconstruction. Both of Finney’s brothers are attorneys in South Carolina: her older brother, Ernest “Chip” Finney, III, elected Solicitor of the Fifth Circuit, and her younger bother, Jerry Leo Finney, in private practice in Columbia, SC.
Both Finney’s parents were raised on the family-owned land: Justice Finney on a farm in Virginia, and Frances Davenport Finney on a farm in Newberry, SC. Themes of the African-American relationship to the land surface throughout Finney’s work.
Educated first in Catholic grade school, and then in South Carolina public schools during the riotous struggle over integration
, Finney was anchored in her youth by her maternal grandmother Beulah Lenorah Butler Davenport and by the inimitable constancy of the nearby South Carolina sea. A bookworm in childhood, she composed poetry and acquired the nickname "Nikky", likely in reference to poet Nikki Giovanni
, who would later become a friend and mentor. Graduated from Sumter High School
in 1975, Finney matriculated at Talladega College
, an HBCU in Alabama, where she was mentored by Dr. Gloria Wade Gayles, poet and essayist.
After studying with Dr. Howard Zehr
and graduating from Talladega College in 1979, Finney began her artistic career as a photographer. Finney committed to documenting the trajectory of African American contributions to American creativity and culture. In Alabama, Finney continued to advance as an autodidactic poet and creative artist.
Finney matriculated at Atlanta University
, working in the African-American Studies department, under African American historians Dr. Richard Long and Dr. David Dorsey. While in Atlanta, Finney joined the Pamoja Writing Collective, the community writing workshop led by Toni Cade Bambara
. Finney also immersed herself in study of the poetry and visual arts of the Black Arts Movement
. Ultimately, limited potential for creative work in academic programs caused Finney to abandon the constraints of graduate study and return to Talladega to work as a photographer. Hired as photographer and reporter by Byllye Y. Avery, for the newly organized, Atlanta-based, National Black Women's Health Project
, Finney traveled to Nairobi
, Kenya
for the End of the Decade of Women Conference in 1985, and covered the historic UN conference for the National Black Women’s Health Project.
, in 1985.
After publication of her first book of poems, Finney relocated to the Bay Area, where she involved herself with progressive causes, and continued independent work as a poet. Finney was recruited to a position as Visiting Writer in the English department at the University of Kentucky
(1989-90), by South Carolina-born novelist and poet, Percival Everett
. In 1993, Finney was offered a post on the permanent faculty. Finney’s second book of poetry, Rice, was completed in Lexington, Kentucky
, and was published in 1995 by SisterVisions, a Canadian press. In 1997, Rice received a PEN American Open Book Award
. Rice stands as the book that brought Finney her many grass-roots followers. Finney’s story cycle, Heartwood, designed for literacy students, was published in 1998, by the University Press of Kentucky
.
Finney took a leave from the University of Kentucky, in 1999 to hold the Goode Chair in the Humanities
at Berea College
(founded in 1855), the first interracial and coeducational college in the South. After returning to the English Department at University of Kentucky, Finney’s third book of poetry, The World is Round, was published by Inner Light Publishing in 2003. In 2005, Finney became Full Professor in the English Department at the University of Kentucky. In 2006, Finney was appointed Interim Director of the African American Studies and Research Program at the University of Kentucky. After the publication of The World is Round, Finney was invited to Smith College
, in Northampton, Massachusetts
, where she served for two years as the Grace Hazard Conkling Writer-in-Residence, from 2007 to 2009.
Finney edited and wrote the introduction to The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, which was published by the University of Georgia Press
in 2007, under the auspices of Cave Canem, an organization that works to increase opportunities for African-American poets. The Ringing Ear, with entries selected & edited by Finney, showcased the work of one hundred African American poets who are southern or who wrote on southern subjects.
Finney’s fourth book of poems, Head Off & Split, was published by Northwestern University Press
in 2011. On October 12, 2011, Head Off & Split was announced as a finalist for the 2011 National Book Awards, with Finney honored as the 2011 winner of the National Book Award for Poetry on November 16, 2011. Her acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, touching on race, reading and writing, was extraordinary; host John Lithgow
judged it "the best acceptance speech for anything that I've ever heard in my life".
Finney is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, a writing collective based in Lexington, Kentucky. Finney has served on the faculty and Board of Cave Canem, where she shepherds younger poets in the spirit of her mentorship experience.
, and her daughter.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, and the Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor of English at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
. An alumna of Talladega College
Talladega College
- External Links :* -- Official web site*...
, and author of four books of poetry and a short story cycle, Finney’s commitment to social justice and cultural preservation is revealed through the themes of her work. Her numerous honors include the 2011 National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for Head Off & Split.
Biography
One of three children, Finney is the only daughter of Ernest A. Finney, Jr.Ernest A. Finney, Jr.
Ernest A. Finney, Jr. was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice appointed to the South Carolina Supreme Court since the Reconstruction Era. He currently resides in Sumter, South Carolina. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.-Early life, education:Finney was born in Smithfield,...
, Civil Rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
Attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and retired Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the state of South Carolina, and Frances Davenport Finney, elementary school teacher. Finney’s father, Justice Ernest Finney, Jr., began his career as a civil rights attorney, and in 1961, served as Head Legal Counsel for the Friendship 9, black junior college students arrested and charged when trying to desegregate
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
McCrory’s lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Rock Hill is the largest city in York County, South Carolina and the fourth-largest city in the state. It is also the third-largest city of the Charlotte metropolitan area, behind Charlotte and Concord, North Carolina. The population was 71,459 as of . Rock Hill has undergone rapid growth between...
. In 1994, Ernest Finney, Jr., was appointed by the State Legislature as the first African-American Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of South Carolina since Reconstruction. Both of Finney’s brothers are attorneys in South Carolina: her older brother, Ernest “Chip” Finney, III, elected Solicitor of the Fifth Circuit, and her younger bother, Jerry Leo Finney, in private practice in Columbia, SC.
Both Finney’s parents were raised on the family-owned land: Justice Finney on a farm in Virginia, and Frances Davenport Finney on a farm in Newberry, SC. Themes of the African-American relationship to the land surface throughout Finney’s work.
Educated first in Catholic grade school, and then in South Carolina public schools during the riotous struggle over integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
, Finney was anchored in her youth by her maternal grandmother Beulah Lenorah Butler Davenport and by the inimitable constancy of the nearby South Carolina sea. A bookworm in childhood, she composed poetry and acquired the nickname "Nikky", likely in reference to poet Nikki Giovanni
Nikki Giovanni
Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Her primary focus is on the individual and the power one has to make a difference in oneself and in the lives of others. Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride, respect for family, and her...
, who would later become a friend and mentor. Graduated from Sumter High School
Sumter High School
Sumter High School is a co-educational four-year public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in Sumter School District located in the south side of Sumter, South Carolina, United States. With a current enrollment of 2,931 Sumter High is the largest school in the Midlands of South Carolina...
in 1975, Finney matriculated at Talladega College
Talladega College
- External Links :* -- Official web site*...
, an HBCU in Alabama, where she was mentored by Dr. Gloria Wade Gayles, poet and essayist.
After studying with Dr. Howard Zehr
Howard Zehr
Howard Zehr is Professor of Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Zehr previously served 19 years as director of Mennonite Central Committee’s Office on Crime and Justice...
and graduating from Talladega College in 1979, Finney began her artistic career as a photographer. Finney committed to documenting the trajectory of African American contributions to American creativity and culture. In Alabama, Finney continued to advance as an autodidactic poet and creative artist.
Finney matriculated at Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University
Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically black university in Atlanta, Georgia. It was formed in 1988 with the consolidation of Clark College and Atlanta University...
, working in the African-American Studies department, under African American historians Dr. Richard Long and Dr. David Dorsey. While in Atlanta, Finney joined the Pamoja Writing Collective, the community writing workshop led by Toni Cade Bambara
Toni Cade Bambara
Toni Cade Bambara, born Miltona Mirkin Cade was an African-American author, documentary film-maker, social activist and college professor.- Biography :...
. Finney also immersed herself in study of the poetry and visual arts of the Black Arts Movement
Black Arts Movement
The Black Arts Movement or BAM is the artistic branch of the Black Power movement. It was started in Harlem by writer and activist Amiri Baraka...
. Ultimately, limited potential for creative work in academic programs caused Finney to abandon the constraints of graduate study and return to Talladega to work as a photographer. Hired as photographer and reporter by Byllye Y. Avery, for the newly organized, Atlanta-based, National Black Women's Health Project
National Black Women's Health Project
National Black Women’s Health Project was legally formed in 1984 in Atlanta, Georgia out of an expressed need to address the health and reproductive rights of African American Women. NBWHP was principally founded by Byllye Avery...
, Finney traveled to Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
for the End of the Decade of Women Conference in 1985, and covered the historic UN conference for the National Black Women’s Health Project.
Career
Finney’s targeted result of her independent years was achieved: On Wings Made of Gauze, her first book of poems, was completed in Atlanta. The book was read and ushered to the late Eunice Riedel by Nikki Giovanni. Riedel acquired and edited On Wings Made of Gauze, which was published by William MorrowWilliam Morrow and Company
William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, and sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981. It was sold along to the News Corporation in 1999...
, in 1985.
After publication of her first book of poems, Finney relocated to the Bay Area, where she involved herself with progressive causes, and continued independent work as a poet. Finney was recruited to a position as Visiting Writer in the English department at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
(1989-90), by South Carolina-born novelist and poet, Percival Everett
Percival Everett
Percival Everett is an American writer and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.-Life:Everett lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife, novelist Danzy Senna and their two sons....
. In 1993, Finney was offered a post on the permanent faculty. Finney’s second book of poetry, Rice, was completed in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, and was published in 1995 by SisterVisions, a Canadian press. In 1997, Rice received a PEN American Open Book Award
PEN/Open Book
PEN/Open Book is a program intended to foster racial and ethnic diversity within the literary and publishing communities, and works to establish access for diverse literary groups to the publishing industry...
. Rice stands as the book that brought Finney her many grass-roots followers. Finney’s story cycle, Heartwood, designed for literacy students, was published in 1998, by the University Press of Kentucky
University Press of Kentucky
The University Press of Kentucky is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 1949 the press was established as a separate academic agency...
.
Finney took a leave from the University of Kentucky, in 1999 to hold the Goode Chair in the Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
at Berea College
Berea College
Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
(founded in 1855), the first interracial and coeducational college in the South. After returning to the English Department at University of Kentucky, Finney’s third book of poetry, The World is Round, was published by Inner Light Publishing in 2003. In 2005, Finney became Full Professor in the English Department at the University of Kentucky. In 2006, Finney was appointed Interim Director of the African American Studies and Research Program at the University of Kentucky. After the publication of The World is Round, Finney was invited to Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, in Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
, where she served for two years as the Grace Hazard Conkling Writer-in-Residence, from 2007 to 2009.
Finney edited and wrote the introduction to The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, which was published by the University of Georgia Press
University of Georgia Press
The University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is a publishing house and is a member of the Association of American University Presses.Founded in 1938, the UGA Press is a division of the University of Georgia and is located on the campus in Athens, Georgia, USA...
in 2007, under the auspices of Cave Canem, an organization that works to increase opportunities for African-American poets. The Ringing Ear, with entries selected & edited by Finney, showcased the work of one hundred African American poets who are southern or who wrote on southern subjects.
Finney’s fourth book of poems, Head Off & Split, was published by Northwestern University Press
Northwestern University Press
Northwestern University Press is the university press of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA.- History :Northwestern University Press was founded in 1893, at first specializing in legal periodicals. Today, the Press publishes scholarly books of fiction, non-fiction, and literary...
in 2011. On October 12, 2011, Head Off & Split was announced as a finalist for the 2011 National Book Awards, with Finney honored as the 2011 winner of the National Book Award for Poetry on November 16, 2011. Her acceptance speech at the awards ceremony, touching on race, reading and writing, was extraordinary; host John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
judged it "the best acceptance speech for anything that I've ever heard in my life".
Finney is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, a writing collective based in Lexington, Kentucky. Finney has served on the faculty and Board of Cave Canem, where she shepherds younger poets in the spirit of her mentorship experience.
Awards and honors
- 2011 National Book Award for PoetryNational Book Award for PoetryThe National Book Award for Poetry has been given since 1950 and is part of the National Book Awards, which are given annually for outstanding literary works by American citizens...
, Head Off & Split - 2004 Benjamin Franklin Award (Independent Booksellers Association), First Place for Poetry, The World Is Round
- 2002 Honorary Doctorate of Humanities, Claflin UniversityClaflin UniversityClaflin University is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. Claflin University was founded in 1869 and is the oldest historically black college or university in the state of South Carolina.-History:...
- 2002 Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent, Chicago, Illinois
- 1999 PEN Beyond Margins Award, Rice, New York City
- 1999 Kentucky Foundation for WomenKentucky Foundation for WomenThe Kentucky Foundation for Women promotes feminist art and social justice by awarding grants to individual artists and organizations, providing time and space for artists and activists at its retreat center, sharing information, and building alliances....
, Artist Fellowship Award - 1999 Kentucky Arts Council, Al Smith Fellowship
- 1995 Kentucky Foundation for WomenKentucky Foundation for WomenThe Kentucky Foundation for Women promotes feminist art and social justice by awarding grants to individual artists and organizations, providing time and space for artists and activists at its retreat center, sharing information, and building alliances....
, Artist Fellowship Award - 1994 Kentucky Arts Council, Artist’s Fellowship Award
Personal Life
Finney lives in Lexington with her partner, novelist A.J. VerdelleA.J. Verdelle
-Life:She is the daughter of A.Y. and Patricia Jones.She attended a private Catholic girls' high school in Washington, D.C.She graduated from the University of Chicago, the University of Chicago with an M.A. in 1986, and from Bard College with an M.F.A...
, and her daughter.
Works
- On wings made of gauze, W. Morrow, 1985, ISBN 9780688047962
- Rice, Sister Vision, 1995, ISBN 9780920813218
- The world is round, InnerLight Pub., 2003, ISBN 9780971489042
- Head Off & Split: Poems, Northwestern University Press, 2011, ISBN 9780810152168
External links
- Nikky Finney website
- Notable Kentucky African Americans
- African American Studies Department UK
- Toshi Reagon KINDNESS
- African American Literature
- Nikky Finney Poets & Writers
- "Finney at Smith College"
- "Interview with: Nikky Finney", The Oxford American, April 6 2011
- http://vidaweb.org/author/verdelle
- Nikky Finney's 2011 National Book Awards acceptance speech, November 17, 2011 (begins at time code 16:45)