Rice [Paperback]

Nikky Finney (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: Sister Vision Pr (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0920813216
• ISBN-13: 978-0920813218
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nikky Finney was born at the rim of the Atlantic Ocean, in South Carolina, in 1957. The daughter of activists and educators, she began writing in the midst of the Civil Rights and Black Arts Movements. With these instrumental eras circling her, Finney's work provides first-person literary accounts to some of the most important events in American history.

In 1985, and at the age of 26, Finney's debut collection of poetry, On Wings Made of Gauze, was published by William Morrow (a division of HaperCollins). Finney's next full-length collection of poetry and portraits, RICE (Sister Vision Press, 1995), was awarded the PEN America-Open Book Award, which was followed by a collection of short stories entitled Heartwood (University Press of Kentucky, 1998). Her next full-length poetry collection, The World Is Round (Inner Light Books, 2003) was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Award sponsored by the Independent Booksellers Association. In 2007, Finney edited the anthology, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South (University of Georgia Press/Cave Canem), which has become an essential compilation of contemporary African American writers. Her fourth full-length collection of poetry, Head Off & Split, is forthcoming from Northwestern University Press (2011).

Finney and her work have been featured on Russell Simmons DEF Poetry (HBO series), renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson's feature "The Meaning of Food" (a PBS production) and National Public Radio. Her work has been praised by Walter Mosley, Nikki Giovanni, Gloria Naylor and the late CBS/60 Minutes news anchor Ed Bradley. Finney has held distinguished posts at Berea College as the Goode Chair in the Humanities and Smith College as the Grace Hazard Conklin Writer-in-Residence.

Finney is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Kentucky.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetry from the Heart of Soul, July 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rice (Paperback)

One of the most outstanding African-American poets of the turn-of-the-century, Nikky Finney presents her second collection of poetry in *Rice*. Some of my favorite poems in the book are "Black Orion," "Burning Hair" and "The Goodfellows Club." A truly must-read collection from one of America's greatest rising poets.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great stories through poems, February 15, 2006

By 

Smokey Cormier (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rice (Paperback)

You will have a hard time finding Rice in a bookstore. I know --I've looked and looked.

When you first see the book, you'll notice the cover art. (Too bad there is no image available on amazon.com.) Besides being so strong visually, the cover is exceptionally beautiful. But wait ... you haven't even made it to the inside yet. Nikky Finney is such a good writer. And you don't have to be a student of poetry or a poet to appreciate her writing. She is a great story teller and it just so happens that she has picked the art of poetry as the structure for her stories.

Start reading ... "The Blackened Alphabet" ... "Irons At Her Feet" ... "Yellow Jaundice" ... and you enter her family's South Carolina home. There's some deep stuff here. It's a journey you take with your whole self. Finney gives the best part of herself and makes you feel like you are on the journey too with the best part of yourself. These stories will stay with you.

And one more thing: I think "The Turtle Ball" is one of the sexiest poems I've ever read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good collection of poems., April 26, 2000

By 

Rich Biggers (Lakeland, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rice (Paperback)

I had the great opportuity to meet this brillant poet, and have had the chance to hear her read some of the works from Rice. This book is wonderfully composed of poems that tug at your inner emotions and of those that are quite thought-provoking. It's a nice change to to experience the raw words that make up Rice, rather than something that seems scripted and practiced. I wouldn't expect anything but the like from Ms. Finney.