Biography
Nikia Chaney is the author of three full-length poetry collections, Us Mouth (University of Hell Press, 2018), To Stir &(Word Works Press, 2022), and There Was This Bird (Poetry Northwest, forthcoming 2025). She has also written a memoir Ladybug (Inlandia, 2022) and a short science fiction collection Three Walking (Bamboo Dart Press, 2022).
From 2016 to 2018, she served as the Inlandia Literary Laureate. In addition to her literary work, she is an interdisciplinary textual artist whose visual poetry has been featured in galleries and journals such as After the Pause and The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry.
In 2023, she was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship for Established Artists by the California Arts Council, recognizing her contributions to poetry, community arts, and interdisciplinary expression.
From 2016 to 2018, she served as the Inlandia Literary Laureate. In addition to her literary work, she is an interdisciplinary textual artist whose visual poetry has been featured in galleries and journals such as After the Pause and The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry.
In 2023, she was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship for Established Artists by the California Arts Council, recognizing her contributions to poetry, community arts, and interdisciplinary expression.
Nikia Chaney is an award-winning poet, educator, and interdisciplinary artist whose work explores identity, memory, and social justice through experimental and deeply personal verse. In 2012, her poem the fish was selected by Nikki Giovanni as the winner of the OSA Enizagam Poetry Award. Of the poem, Giovanni wrote, "What power this poem has with showing the difficulty of growing up with a terrible secret. What a powerful song this friend sings for a friend drowning in if not evil, then certainly, difficulty."
Dedicated to the literary arts, Nikia has been recognized with fellowships and grants from Cave Canem, the Millay Colony for the Arts, the Community of Writers, and the Barbara Demings Fund. In 2023, she was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship for Established Artists by the California Arts Council, further affirming her contributions to the arts in California.
Nikia is the author of Us Mouth (University of Hell Press, 2018), a striking collection that interrogates language, sound, and the body. She has also published three chapbooks: Sis Fuss (Orange Monkey Publishing, 2012), Ladies, Please(Dancing Girl Press, 2013), and Mapless, a collaborative poetry-visual hybrid with Cindy Rinne (Cholla Needles, 2018). Her upcoming poetry collection, There Was This Bird, was selected for the 2023 Possession Sound Poetry Series by Poetry Northwest and is slated for publication in 2025. Her work has appeared in Iowa Review, Portland Review, Saranac Review, 491, Pearl, Sugar House Review, Welter, Blackberry Magazine, Kweli, Vinyl, and tnY.press. She has also been anthologized in The Breakbeat Poets Vol. III: Halal If You Hear Me and The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry.
Beyond her writing, Nikia is a passionate literary advocate. She is the founding editor of shufPoetry, an online journal for experimental poetry, and the founder of Jamii Publishing, an independent press dedicated to community-driven literature. Through Jamii, she has created spaces for Black writers and artists to share their voices, fostering a more inclusive and supportive literary landscape.
From 2016 to 2018, Nikia served as the Inlandia Literary Laureate, where she organized and moderated literary and community-based events. During her tenure, she developed the Homespun Chapbook series for Inlandia Institute and led Voices Against Violence, a workshop and exhibition program addressing the impact of violence in San Bernardino. Her work in arts advocacy continued after relocating to Santa Cruz in 2019, where she became involved with organizations such as the Santa Cruz Writers of Color, Hive Poetry, Santa Cruz Black, and Círculo de Poetas.
In addition to her literary work, Nikia is also a textual artist, incorporating language into visual mediums to create thought-provoking installations that merge poetry with mixed-media expression. Her textual art explores themes of Black identity, spirituality, and memory through collage, typography, and layered textures. Her work has been exhibited in several galleries and literary arts showcases, including The Future of Black exhibit, which featured her visual poetry alongside Black speculative art, and the Afrofuturist Literary Arts Festival. Her experimental text-based work has also been featured in After the Pause, an international journal of visual poetry.
As an educator, Nikia has taught African American Literature and Creative Writing at Cabrillo College, Service Learning coursework at California State University Monterey Bay and African American Studies courses at California State University Fullerton. She is currently an English instructor at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC). Her teaching philosophy emphasizes creative expression, cultural awareness, and community engagement, encouraging students to explore their own identities and histories through writing.
Nikia is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Women’s Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), where her research focuses on Black women's creative expression, spiritual traditions, and decolonial methodologies. She continues to write, create, and advocate for literary and visual arts and grass roots community service.
