Frank X Walker

Frank X Walker (born June 11, 1961) is an African-American poet from Danville, Kentucky. Walker coined the word "Affrilachia", signifying the importance of the African-American presence in Appalachia: the "new word ... spoke to the union of Appalachian identity and the region's African-American culture and history".[1] He is a professor in the English department at the University of Kentucky[2] and was the Poet Laureate of Kentucky from 2013 to 2015.[3]

Frank X Walker
Frank X Walker
Frank X Walker
Born (1961-06-11) June 11, 1961
Danville, Kentucky
OccupationPoet, educator
NationalityAmerican
Period1990s-
GenrePoetry, essays, visual art
SubjectAppalachia, history, African-American culture, environment, education

Biography

Walker was born Frank Walker, Jr., in Danville, Kentucky, the second of eleven children. He grew up in Danville, where the family lived in public housing projects. He was an avid reader as a child. Walker describes himself as both a "nerd" and an athlete in his teenage years. At Danville High School, he played football on the school team, was a member of several clubs, and was twice elected class president.[4]

He was recruited to attend the University of Kentucky in engineering, but changed his major to English. Gurney Norman was one of his writing teachers at the University of Kentucky, where he received his undergraduate degree. Walker is a charter member of the Mu Theta chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at the University of Kentucky. He now holds life membership within the organization.[5] It was during his college years that he adopted the middle initial "X", which was given to him by friends.[4] He completed an MFA in Writing at Spalding University in May 2003.

A founding member of the Affrilachian Poets,[6] he is the founding editor (2007) and publisher of PLUCK!, the new Journal of Affrilachian Art & Culture.[7] In January 2010, he returned to the University of Kentucky to accept a position as professor in the English Department.[8] In 2013, he was appointed Poet Laureate of Kentucky,[9][3] the first African-American to hold that position.[10]

Walker has published five volumes of poetry; Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York won the 2004 Lillian Smith Book Award. Walker's poems have been converted into a stage production by the University of Kentucky Theatre department.[11] Walker was involved in the documentary Coal Black Voices, where he was a consulting producer.[12]

Walker is founder and executive director of the Bluegrass Black Arts Consortium, Program Coordinator of the University of Kentucky's King Cultural Center, and assistant director of Purdue University's Black Cultural Center. He regularly teaches in writing programs like Fishtrap in Oregon and SplitRock at the University of Minnesota.[13]

Awards

Work

Poetry
  • About Flight. Accents Publishing. 2015. ISBN 978-1-936628-36-0.[15]
  • Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers. University of Georgia Press. 2013. ISBN 978-0-8203-4541-3.[15]
  • Isaac Murphy: I Dedicate This Ride (Old Cove Press, 2010) ISBN 978-0-9675424-3-0
  • When Winter Come: the Ascension of York. University Press of Kentucky. 2008. ISBN 978-0-8131-9184-3.
  • Black Box (Old Cove Press, 2005). ISBN 978-0-9675424-1-6
  • Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York. University Press of Kentucky. 2003. ISBN 0-8131-9088-6.
  • Affrilachia (Old Cove Press, 2000). ISBN 978-0-9675424-0-9

Editor
  • America! What's My Name? The "Other Poets" Unfurl the Flag. Wind Publications. 2007. ISBN 978-1-893239-63-0.
  • Eclipsing a Nappy New Millennium. Haraka Press. 1998. ISBN 978-0-9664994-0-7.

Video
  • Writing: Getting Ideas on Paper, PBS's GED Connection Series
  • In Performance At the Governor's Mansion
  • Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky.

Video producer
  • Coal Black Voices (the History of the Affrilachian Poets), consulting producer, received the 2002-2003 Jesse Stuart Award presented by the Kentucky School Media Association
  • KY2NYC: Art/life & 9.11, exploring the effects of 9.11 on the arts community.

References
  1. "See excellence". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  2. "Frank X Walker - English". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  3. "Kentucky - State Poets". Library of Congress. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  4. Bianca Spriggs (Fall 2011). "Frank X Walker: Exemplar of Affrilachia". Appalachian Heritage. 39 (4): 21–25. doi:10.1353/aph.2011.0109. S2CID 201775054.
  5. "This Year's Models 1999: Frank X Walker 12.20.1999". 20 December 1999.
  6. Danny Miller; Sharon Hatfield; Gurney Norman (2005). An American vein. Ohio University Press. pp. 315–317. ISBN 978-0-8214-1589-4.
  7. Bill O'Driscoll (May 31, 2007). "Affrilachian Poets co-founder Frank X Walker talks about his new cultural journal, Pluck!". Pittsburgh City Paper.
  8. Elliot, Allison (30 November 2009). "Poet Frank X Walker to Join UK Faculty". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  9. "Frank X Walker new Ky. poet laureate". Lexington Herald-Leader. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  10. Kramer, Elizabeth (14 February 2013). "Frank X Walker named Kentucky's first African-American poet laureate". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  11. Richard O. Jones (February 24, 2009). "'Choreopoem' by Frank X Walker to debut at NKU". Dayton Daily News.
  12. "Coal Black Voices: a documentary | English". english.as.uky.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  13. "Selected Artists in Residence" (PDF). Split Rock Arts Program. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  14. "Frank X Walker: 2005 Lannan Literary Fellowship for Poetry". Lannan Foundation. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  15. "Frank X Walker - Affrilachian Poet, Educator, Author of Black Box, Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York, and Affrilachia". frankxwalker.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
External audio
audio icon *"Creative Solutions to Life's Challenges", Frank X Walker, This I Believe, NPR
audio icon Frank X Walker, The Poet and the Poem 2017-18 Series
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