Burnaway

We’re excited to announce that poet and professor Nikky Finney will be our second 2026 Art Writing Incubator speaker on Saturday, July 18! Learn more about Nikky Finney below.

Just a reminder that AWrI applications are due next Friday, May 15 at 11:59 PM EST. Application and information can be found at the link in bio!
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Photo by Forrest Clonts.
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Renowned poet and professor Nikky Finney has spent her career illuminating the Southern cultural and political heritage of Black people in ways that resonate throughout the country and world. Her ongoing legacy of poignant expression, indomitable truth, and devotion to social justice has enriched the country and world.

Finney’s love of writing and poetry began during her childhood in South Carolina. Born in Conway, SC. She is the daughter of Ernest A. Finney, Jr. and Frances Davenport Finney. She began taking notes on the world when she was just a girl growing up in South Carolina. She further heeded this calling by earning her bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Talladega College in 1979. The influence of the Civil Rights and Black Arts Movements, and her parents’ social activism led her to pursue additional education in African American Studies at Atlanta University. In her career of more than 30 years, Finney has written six books and hundreds of poems and essays that explore and confront the experiences that have shaped life in the South for herself and countless other African Americans. Her most recent book, “Love Child’s Hotbed of Occasional Poetry” (Northwestern University Press, 2020) is an enduring love song to her father and 400 years of African American fight and ingenuity. (Continued in comments)

Book//Zine, Burnaway’s annual art book and zine fair, is returning to Goat Farm () on Saturday, October 24th, 2026.

Calling all independent publishers, small presses, makers, and book artists—exhibitor applications for Book//Zine 002 are open through Monday, June 8th at 11:59PM EST.

Information about B//Z002 and the exhibitor application can be found at the link in bio.

Burnaway takes a close look at “Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature” at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (), Durham.

“‘Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature’ features several works originally shown in her first Duke exhibition 54 years ago, alongside key experimental pieces from the 1960s and 70s. The exhibition traces the evolution of Heyden’s bold techniques while honoring the lasting impact of the Durham community on her practice. Today, her tapestries continue to resonate—each thread a quiet expression of hope and a belief in the power of music and nature to inspire and transform.” - from the exhibition text

“Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature” is on view at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham through June 7, 2026.
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1 Silvia Heyden, “Translucent”, early 1970s; linen, 48 × 43 inches; collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. © Silvia Heyden Estate. Photo by Peter Paul Goeffreon.2. Installation view of “Silvia Heyden: Weaving Notes & Nature” at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham. Images courtesy of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. 3. Silvia Heyden, “Study for Fleur d’Afrique”, 1960; wash, crayon on tissue paper, 6 1/8 x 9 7/8 inches; collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. © Silvia Heyden Estate. Photo by Brian Quinby.

Excerpts from the “MYTH” Editor’s Letter by Courtney McClellan (), Burnaway’s Editor and Artistic Director. The full letter can be found in “MYTH”, our new print reader, available on our shop. For those in Atlanta, join us tonight from 6:30-8:30PM at Oakland Cemetery for our Atlanta reader release party. RSVP at the link in bio.