Her acceptance speech has become a thing of legend, described by the 2011 National Book Awards host John Lithgow as 'the best acceptance speech ever – for anything” ( watch it here).

She edited “Black Poets Lean South,” a Cave Canem anthology (2007), and authored “On Wings Made of Gauze” (1985), “Rice” (1995), “Heartwood” (1997), “The World Is Round” (2003), and “Head Off & Split,” winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry. She has been a poet and professor for 23 years at the University of Kentucky, as well as a visiting professor at Berea and Smith Colleges.įinney won the PEN American Open Book Award in 1996 and the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Award for the Arts in South Carolina in 2016. Nikky Finney (above, left) has been a faculty member at the Cave Canem summer workshop for African American poets and is a founding member of The Affrilachian Poets, a particular place for poets of color in Appalachia. “Nikky and Tyehimba are both brilliant storytellers, inspired artists and thinkers, and true teachers.'Ībout the authors: Nikky Finney and Tyehimba Jess “We're so pleased to host a reading with Nikky Finney and Tyehimba Jess during this year's DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts,' said Marc Dickinson, DMACC English Professor and Coordinator of the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts. Events are held on a monthly basis and are open to the public. The year-round DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts spotlights a variety of local, regional and nationally known authors, and includes mix of both in-person and virtual formats. Anyone interested in attending this free virtual event should register here online. 15, via Zoom in conjunction with a variety of events taking place at DMACC in February in celebration of Black History Month.

The DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts, which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary during the 2022-23 academic year, will host a Virtual Reading featuring award-winning poets Nikky Finney and Tyehimba Jess from 12-1 p.m. Nikky Finney (above, left), winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry, and Tyehimba Jess (above, right), winner of a 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, will be the featured authors during February and in celebration of Black History Month.Īll DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts events are free and open to the public.

The DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts is celebrating its 20th year with a new monthly format that features prominent authors year-round. Both authors will read from their work from 12-1 p.m.

The world is round nikky finney