Writer Nikky Finney speaks on literature at USC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Poet and National Book Award winner Nikky Finney is scheduled to discuss black Southern writers in an address at the University of South Carolina. University spokeswoman Peggy Binette says Finney is speaking at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the School of Law auditorium. The Conway native joined the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences in the fall. Finney’s fourth collection of poems, Head Off & Split, was awarded the 2011 National Book Award. The National Book Foundation says the work was marked by a sensitive and intense dialogue with emblematic figures in African-American life, ranging from civil rights matriarch Rosa Parks to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The presentation is free and open to the public.