Name: William R. Kenan Jr. Lecture with Nikky Finney
Start: 2026-02-19T19:00:00-05:00
Location: Haggin Auditorium-Transylvania University

Join us for this year's William R. Kenan Jr. Lecture with Nikky Finney, a National Book Award–winning poet and one of the most influential literary voices of our time. Her talk “Poetry, The Influencer” will be followed by a book signing.
Tickets are not required.
The Kenan series brings distinguished scholars, artists and public intellectuals to campus to engage the community in meaningful dialogue.
This year, the series also includes the "35th Anniversary Reading of the Affrilachian Poets," including founding members Nikky Finney, Frank X Walker and Crystal Wilkinson on Friday, Feb. 20, at 6 p.m. in Carrick Theater.
About Nikky Finney
Nikky Finney is a renowned poet and educator whose work explores history, identity and social justice through powerful lyricism. She is the author of several poetry collections, including “On Wings Made of Gauze,” “Rice,” “The World Is Round” and “Head Off & Split,” which won the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry. Finney holds the John H. Bennett Jr. Chair of Creative Writing and Southern Literature and is a Carolina Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina. She currently serves as a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.