Nikky Finney has been writing poetry tied to particular events for as long as she can remember.
When she was 9 years old, a member of her church congregation tasked her with writing a poem for a birthday: Nikki, we need a poem for Mrs. Robinson’s 100th birthday next week, can you get to work on that?, she recounted.
She didn’t know it at the time, but she was writing occasional poetry — a form written for a specific occasion — “a wedding, a birthday, a new building, a 100-year-old anniversary,” she explained.
