Frank X Walker

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Frank X Walker
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Frank X Walker
Born (1961-06-11) June 11, 1961 (age 63)
Danville, Kentucky
OccupationPoet, educator
NationalityAmerican
Period1990s–present
GenrePoetry, essays, visual art
Subject Appalachia, history, African-American culture, environment, education

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]

Contents

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 American 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 (started 1991), [6] he also launched (as editor and publisher) PLUCK! – The New Journal of Affrilachian Art & Culture in 2007. [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

Editor

Video

Video producer

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Affrilachia is a term that focuses on the cultural contributions of African-American artists, writers, and musicians in the Appalachian region of the United States. The term "Affrilachia" is attributed to Kentucky-based writer Frank X Walker, who began using it in the 1990s as a way to negate the stereotype of Appalachian culture, which portrays Appalachians as predominantly white and living in small mountain communities. The term Affrilachian stands for an African American who is a native or resident in the Appalachian region. Affrilachia is also the title of Walker's 2000 book of poetry, published by Old Cove Press.

References

  1. ↑ "See excellence". University of Kentucky . Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Frank X Walker - English". University of Kentucky . Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kentucky - State Poets". Library of Congress . Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 "Frank X Walker - Affrilachian Poet, Educator, Author of Black Box, Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York, and Affrilachia". www.frankxwalker.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  16. 1 2 "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
Nuvola apps arts.svg *"Creative Solutions to Life's Challenges", Frank X Walker, This I Believe, NPR
Nuvola apps arts.svg Frank X Walker, The Poet and the Poem 2017-18 Series
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