Paperback / softback
September 14, 2021
9780813151076
English
96
8.50 Inches (US)
5.50 Inches (US)
.2 Pounds (US)
$12.95 USD
v2.1 Reference
Electronic book text
September 14, 2021
9780813155050
9780813151076
English
96
8.50 Inches (US)
5.50 Inches (US)
$12.95 USD
v2.1 Reference
Electronic book text
September 14, 2021
9780813155104
9780813151076
English
96
8.50 Inches (US)
5.50 Inches (US)
$12.95 USD
v2.1 Reference

Heartwood, expanded edition

When Trina Sims and Jenny Bryan first meet, they don't relate well to each other. Jenny is troubled, struggling to escape personal demons, and somewhat closed-minded, the result of growing up in a racist town. Trina is a proud Black woman—ambitious, strong-willed, and unafraid to speak her mind. But after the pair spend a few days together, they soon realize that they're both yearning for understanding and a fresh start and are, at heart, more alike than different.

At the center of every tree can be found the heartwood—the very soul of the tree. And at the heart of this illuminating novel are characters with more complexities and contradictions than appear on the surface. Members of a rural Kentucky community, their lives are loosely connected through chance encounters, and yet somehow deeply intertwined. This captivating story by National Book Award-winning author Nikky Finney is filled with the sights and sounds and hopes and hurts of a land and its people. Some are burdened with racist attitudes, anger, and fear, while others strive to see the good in their neighbors.

This "tiny little book about the human heart and what it can do" was first released 25 years ago as part of New Books for New Readers, a series designed for adult literacy students. In this expanded anniversary edition, with a new preface by Finney, all readers will find lessons about life and understanding, and the encouragement to live audaciously while acknowledging the goodness that is all around us—if we only strive to recognize and embrace it.

About the Author

Nikky Finney is a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets and the John H. Bennett, Jr., Chair in Creative Writing and Southern Letters at the University of South Carolina. She edited Black Poets Lean South and authored On Wings Made of Gauze, Rice, The World Is Round, Head Off & Split (winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry), and Love Child's Hotbed of Occasional Poetry. Finney's work, including her now legendary National Book Award acceptance speech, is on display in the inaugural exhibition of the African American Museum of History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
University Press of Kentucky
expanded edition

9780813151076 : heartwood-2nd-edition-finney
Paperback / softback
96 Pages
$12.95 USD
9780813155050 : heartwood-2nd-edition-finney
Electronic book text
96 Pages
$12.95 USD
9780813155104 : heartwood-2nd-edition-finney
Electronic book text
96 Pages
$12.95 USD

Other Titles by Nikky Finney

Perfect Black

Crystal Wilkinson, foreword by Nikky Finney, illustrated by Ronald W. Davis
Aug 2021 - University Press of Kentucky
$29.95 USD - Hardback
$19.95 USD - Paperback / softback
$19.95 USD - Electronic book text

State of the Heart

edited by Aida Rogers, foreword by Nikky Finney, afterword by Cassandra King
Aug 2018 - University of South Carolina Press
$41.99 USD - Hardback
$19.99 USD - Paperback / softback

Blackberries, Blackberries

Crystal Wilkinson, foreword by Nikky Finney, afterword by Honorée Jeffers
Feb 2017 - University Press of Kentucky
$19.95 USD - Paperback / softback

Other Titles in FICTION / Small Town & Rural

Daughters of Muscadine

Monic Ductan
Nov 2023 - Fireside Industries, an imprint of University Press of Kentucky
$24.95 USD - Hardback
$24.95 USD - Electronic book text
$24.95 USD - Electronic book text

The Hills Remember

James Still, edited by Ted Olson, OtherTeresa Perry Reynolds
Jul 2022 - University Press of Kentucky
$29.95 USD - Hardback
$29.95 USD - Electronic book text
$29.95 USD - Electronic book text

Small Marvels

Scott Russell Sanders
May 2022 - Indiana University Press
$65.00 USD - Hardback
$18.00 USD - Paperback / softback