Nikky Finney won the National Book Award for poetry this year for Head Off and Split. She is in the English department at the University of Kentucky. Her acceptance speech has gone viral among the literati; the Lexington, Ky. Herald Leader, described it four days later as “a spoken-word poem that has flown around the world and back along digital wires, bringing tears and awe in its wake.” John Lithgoe, the host for the evening, called it the “best acceptance speech I’ve heard for anything in my life.” It is a wonderful encapsulation of the nuanced ways a literary life Read more