Nikki Finney was introduced Thursday as the newest faculty member of the school's College of Arts and Sciences.
/ Zoheb Hassanli
COLUMBIA (WACH) -- A popular poet is bringing her skills to the University of South Carolina.
Nikki Finney was introduced Thursday as the newest faculty member of the school's College of Arts and Sciences, with joint appointment in the Department of English and African-American studies program. Finney will be the Chair of the Southern Literature and Creative Writing for the school.
The Columbia native earned the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry for her collection "Head Off a Split." Finney previously taught at the University of Kentucky.
Finney said she is excited to finally be back in the Palmetto State.
"I was born in Conway, South Carolina, a few feet away from the Atlantic Ocean," Finney said. "When you are born that close to the ocean, I don't think it ever leaves you. It does not leave your mindset. I have carried South Carolina with me everywhere I have lived, and everywhere I have worked."
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