Happy Birthday Nikky Finney!

We'd like to wish one of our favorite American poets, Nikky Finney, a very happy birthday today. In addition to Head Off & Split, Finney’s books of poetry include On Wings Made of Gauze (1985), Rice (1995), Heartwood (1997), and The World is Round (2003). She edited the collection Black Poets Lean South (2007), an anthology of poets associated with Cave Canem, where Finney is on faculty. Finney is also a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, a group of black Appalachian poets. She has received numerous awards for her work, including a PEN America Open Book Award and the Benjamin Franklin Award for Poetry. Finney will also participate in our Poetry Off the Shelf series, here in Chicago, on October 30th. Check out our links to read more about the event and Finney.