Nikky Finney

Quick Facts

Full Name	Nikky Finney
Occupation	Poet
Date Of Birth	Aug 26, 1957(1957-08-26)
Age	67
Birthplace	Conway
Country	United States
Birth City	South Carolina
Horoscope	Leo

Nikky Finney Biography

Nikky Finney is one of the most popular and richest Poet who was born on August 26, 1957 in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Nikky Finney (born Lynn Carol Finney on August 26, 1957 located in Conway, South Carolina) is a South Carolina-born American poet from the United States. she was Guy Davenport’s Endowed Professor in English in the University of Kentucky for twenty years. In 2013 she was appointed with the University of South Carolina as the John H. Bennett, Jr. Chair in Southern Letters and Literature. Alumna from Talladega College, and author of four poetry books as well as a story series, Finney is an advocate for cultural and social justice. Her awards are the 2010 National Book Award for Head Off and Split.

Finney’s goal of a successful outcome from her free time was accomplished on Wings Made of Gauze, her first collection of poetry was published in Atlanta. The book was then read and delivered to the later Eunice Riedel in the presence of Nikki Giovanni. Riedel bought the book and published On Wings Made of Gauze that was published in 1985 by William Morrow, 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. She 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. Her 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. Her 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, she became Full Professor in the English Department at the University of Kentucky. In 2006, she 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.

After having studied with Professor Dr. Howard Zehr and graduating from Talladega College in 1979, Finney started her professional career as photographer. Finney is committed to documenting the history that African American contributions have made to American creative and cultural life. While in Alabama, Finney continued to grow as an autodidactic poet and artist.

Nikky Finney Net Worth

Nikky Finney is one of the richest Poet from United States. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Nikky Finney 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Finney is one of three children. Finney is the sole girl born to Ernest A. Finney, Jr., Civil Rights Attorney and former Chief Justice for the State of South Carolina, and Frances Davenport Finney who was an elementary school teacher. Finney’s father’s career began as a civil rights lawyer and in the year 1961, he was appointed Head Legal Counsel to Friendship 9. Friendship 9, black junior college students, who were charged and arrested in the attempt to disenfranchise McCrory’s lunch counters located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The year 1994 was the year that Ernest Finney, Jr. was appointed by the State Legislature as the first Chief Justice of African-American descent in South Carolina since Reconstruction. Two of Finney’s brothers have been legal practitioners who practice in South Carolina: her older brother, Ernest “Chip” Finney III, who was elected as As Solicitor for the Third Judicial Circuit, and her younger brother, Jerry Leo Finney, who is a private attorney at Columbia, SC.

First educated in a Catholic primary school, then later at South Carolina public schools during the unrest over the integration process, Finney was anchored in her early years through her mother Beulah the late Lenorah Butler Davenport as well as by the constant vigor of the adjacent South Carolina sea. As a child, she was a bookworm. she wrote poetry and earned the moniker “Nikky”, likely in an allusion to the poetry writer Nikki Giovanni, who would later become a close friend and mentor. After graduating of Sumter High School, in the year 1975. Finney was accepted into Talladega College, an HBCU located in Alabama in Alabama, where she was guided by essayist and poet Dr. Gloria Wade Gayles.

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.

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Nikky Finney Dating?

According to our records, Nikky Finney is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Nikky Finney’s is not dating anyone.

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Facts & Trivia

Nikky Ranked on the list of most popular Poet. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in United States. Nikky Finney celebrates birthday on August 26 of every year.

Top Facts about Nikky Finney

1. Nikky Finney is an award-winning American poet.
2. She was born in South Carolina in 1957.
3. Finney has published several poetry collections, including “Head Off & Split.”
4. She won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2011.
5. Finney is a professor of English and creative writing at the University of Kentucky.
6. Her work often explores themes of race, history, and identity.
7. Finney has received numerous other awards and honors for her poetry.
8. She was named the state poet laureate of Kentucky in 2019.
9. Finney’s poetry has been widely anthologized and translated into multiple languages.
10. She is known for her powerful readings and performances of her work.

What is Nikky Finney known for?

She 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.

Where does Nikky Finney teach?

Chair in Creative Writing and Southern Letters at the University of South Carolina. She has a joint appointment in the department of English Language and Literature and the African American Studies program.