Frank X Walker (born June 11, 1961) is an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

from

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...

. Walker coined the word "

Affrilachia 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, wh ...

", signifying the importance of the African-American presence in

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

: the "new word ... spoke to the union of Appalachian identity and the region's African-American culture and history". He is a Professor in the English department at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

and was the Poet Laureate of Kentucky from 2013-2015.

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 Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

on the school team, was a member of several clubs, and was twice elected class president. He was recruited to attend the

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, but changed his major to English.

Gurney Norman Gurney Norman (born 1937) is an American writer, documentarian, and professor. Biography Gurney Norman was born in Grundy, Virginia, in 1937. He grew up in the southern Appalachian Mountains and was raised alternately by his maternal grandparent ...

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 Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

fraternity at the University of Kentucky. He now holds life membership within the organization. It was during his college years that he adopted the middle initial "X", which was given to him by friends. He completed an MFA in Writing at

Spalding University Spalding University is a private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. History Spalding University traces its origins to Nazareth Academy, one of the oldest educational instituti ...

in May 2003. A founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, he is the founding editor (2007) and publisher of ''PLUCK!, the new Journal of Affrilachian Art & Culture''. In January 2010, he returned to the University of Kentucky to accept a position as professor in the English Department. In 2013, he was appointed Poet Laureate of Kentucky, the first African-American to hold that position. Walker has published five volumes of poetry; ''Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York'' won the 2004

Lillian Smith Book Award Jointly presented by the Southern Regional Council and the University of Georgia Libraries, the ''Lillian Smith Book Awards honor those authors who, through their outstanding writing about the American South, carry on Lillian Smith's legacy of elu ...

. Walker's poems have been converted into a stage production by the

Theatre department. Walker was involved in the documentar
''Coal Black Voices''
where he was a consulting producer. Walker is Founder and Executive Director of the Bluegrass Black Arts Consortium, Program Coordinator of the

's King Cultural Center, and Assistant Director of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

's Black Cultural Center. He regularly teaches in writing programs like

Fishtrap A fish trap is a trapping, trap used for fishing. Fish traps include fishing weir, fishing weirs, lobster trap, lobster traps, and some fishing nets such as fyke nets. Traps are culturally almost universal and seem to have been independently inv ...

in Oregon and SplitRock at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Awards

* 2004 Winner of th
Lillian Smith Book Award
* 2006 Thomas D. Clark Literary Award for Excellence, Actors Theatre's Keeper of the Chronicle Award * 2005 Recipient of a $75,000 Lannan Literary Fellowship in Poetry * Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Fellowship recipient * 2013-1
Kentucky Poet Laureate
* 2014

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

Image Award: Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry.

Work

Poetry

About Flight
Accents Publishing. 2015. .

University of Georgia Press. 2013. . *''Isaac Murphy: I Dedicate This Ride''
Old Cove Press
2010) * * ''Black Box''
Old Cove Press
2005). * * ''Affrilachia''
Old Cove Press
2000).

Editor

* *

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

External links

Author's website
documentary {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Frank X 1961 births Affrilachian Poets African-American academics African-American educators African-American history in Appalachia African-American poets Appalachian writers Living people Northern Kentucky University faculty Poets from Kentucky Poets Laureate of Kentucky Spalding University alumni University of Kentucky alumni Writers from Danville, Kentucky 21st-century American poets 21st-century African-American writers 20th-century African-American people