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When Frank X Walker's compelling collection of personal poems was
first released in 2004, it told the story of the infamous Lewis and
Clark Expedition from the point of view of Clark's personal slave,
York. The fictionalized poems in Buffalo Dance formed a narrative
of York's inner and outer journey, before, during, and after the
expedition face=Calibri>– a journey from slavery to freedom,
from the plantation to the great northwest, from servant to soul
yearning to be free. In this updated edition, Walker utilizes a
blend of extensive historical research, interviews, transcribed
oral histories from the Nez Perce reservation, art, and empathy to
breathe new life into an important but overlooked historical
figure. Featuring a new introduction, preface, and sixteen
additional poems, this powerful work speaks to such topics as race,
literacy, slavery, and Native Americans, while reawakening and
reclaiming the lost "voice" of York.
The people and places in Appalachia are as rich, multifaceted, and
diverse as the region itself. When author Frank X Walker first
coined the phrase "Affrilachia," he wanted to ensure that the
voices, and accomplishments of African Americans in that region
were recognized and exalted. A is for Affrilachia not only brings
awareness of notable African Americans from this region, but this
inspired children's alphabet book is also an exuberant celebration
of the people, physical spaces, and historical events that may not
be as well known in mainstream educational structures. Illustrated
by acclaimed artist Ronald W. Davis, every image exudes with
vibrancy, beauty, and whimsy as it depicts each of the alphabetized
words alongside the appropriate letter. Featured are a range of
musicians, artists, and activists, as well as mountain ranges,
literary works, and coal mining implements. Famous names, such as
playwright August Wilson, writer Nikki Giovanni, actor Chadwick
Boseman, and singer Nina Simone are spotlighted, as well as
lesser-known individuals, such as artist Romare Bearden and
musician Amethyst Kiah. Particularly poignant are the letters
representing the four girls face=Calibri>– Addie Mae Collins,
Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley
face=Calibri>– who were killed in the 16th Street Baptist
Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. Equipped with a
glossary to engage discussion regarding the importance of the
individuals and places represented, this children's book is a
unique and engaging ABC primer that offers a rich display of
regional, racial, and cultural heritage through word and image.
"This personal poetic narrative is a historic valuable offering . .
. an eagle's-eye view into what it means to be young, Black,
artistic, and male in Appalachia, as one century comes to an end
and another begins."-- Nikky Finney, author of "Rice."
When Frank X Walker's compelling collection of personal poems was
first released in 2004, it told the story of the infamous Lewis and
Clark Expedition from the point of view of Clark's personal slave,
York. The fictionalized poems in Buffalo Dance formed a narrative
of York's inner and outer journey, before, during, and after the
expedition face=Calibri>- a journey from slavery to freedom,
from the plantation to the great northwest, from servant to soul
yearning to be free. In this updated edition, Walker utilizes a
blend of extensive historical research, interviews, transcribed
oral histories from the Nez Perce reservation, art, and empathy to
breathe new life into an important but overlooked historical
figure. Featuring a new introduction, preface, and sixteen
additional poems, this powerful work speaks to such topics as race,
literacy, slavery, and Native Americans, while reawakening and
reclaiming the lost "voice" of York.
A sequel to the award-winning Buffalo Dance, Frank X Walker's
When Winter Come: The Ascension of York is a dramatic reimagining
of Lewis and Clark's legendary exploration of the American West. By
focusing on the humanity and struggles of York, Clark's slave, When
Winter Come challenges conventional views of the journey's heroes
and exposes the deeds, both great and ghastly, of the men behind
the myth. Grounded in the history of the famous trip, Walker's
vibrant account allows York -- little more than a forgotten
footnote in traditional narratives -- to embody the full range of
human ability, knowledge, emotion, and experience. He is a skillful
hunter who kills his prey with both grace and reverence, and he
thinks deeply about the proper place of humans in the natural
world. York knows the seasons "like a book," and he "can read moss,
sunsets, the moon, and a mare's foaling time with a touch." The
Native peoples understand and honor York's innate bond with the
earth. Though his expertise is integral to the journey's success,
York's masters do not reward him; they know only the way of the
lash. The alternately heartbreaking and uplifting poems in When
Winter Come are told from multiple perspectives and rendered in
vivid detail. On the journey, York forges a spiritual connection
and shares sensual delights with a Nez Perce woman, and he aches
when he is forced to leave her and their unborn son. Walker's poems
capture the profound feelings of love and loss on each side of this
ill-fated meeting of souls. When the trek ends and York is sent
back to his former home, his wife and stepmother air their joys and
grievances. As the perspectives of Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, and
others in the party emerge, Walker also gives voice to York's
knife, his hunting shirt, and the river waters that have borne the
labors and travels of thousands before and after the Lewis and
Clark expedition. Despite fleeting hints that escape is possible,
slavery continues to bind York and quell the joyful noise in his
spirit until his death. Walker's poems, however, give York his
voice after centuries of silence. When Winter Come exalts the
historical persona of a slave and lifts the soul of a man. York
ascends out of his chains, out of oblivion, and into flight.
Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry is an
anthology of poems by more than a hundred award-winning poets,
including Jericho Brown, Tracy K. Smith, and Justin Philip Reed,
combined with themed essays on poetics from celebrated scholars
such as Kwame Dawes, Evie Shockley, and Meta DuEwa Jones. The
Furious Flower Poetry Center is the nation's first academic center
for Black poetry. In this eponymous collection, editors Joanne V.
Gabbin and Lauren K. Alleyne bring together many of the paramount
voices in Black poetry and poetics active today, composing an
electrifying mosaic of voices, generations, and aesthetics that
reveals the Black narrative in the work of twentieth- and
twenty-first-century writers. Intellectually enlightening and
powerfully enlivening, Furious Flower explores and celebrates the
idea of the Black poetic voice, to ask, "What's next for Black
poetic expression?
A powerful new collection from Frank X Walker, winner of the 2005
Lannan Literary Fellowship for Poetry. Featuring 68 poems on
family, place, identity, and social justice, Black Box continues
the brilliant autobiographical journey of Affrilachia, the author's
groundbreaking first volume of poems. "The work of Frank X Walker
is an eclectic, powerful mixture of liberating style, profound
insight, and unwavering organic connection to the intellectual,
political, and cultural struggles of a people. He stands in the
tradition of DuBois, McKay, Robeson and Hughes." -- Ricky L. Jones,
Black Haze."The spirit of a child runs through the poetry of Frank
X Walker's latest collection, 'Black Box'. A young, rural black boy
recalls his parents, grandparents and ancestors who originally
settled the land, built the rock walls and dug in the coal mines.
close-to-the-bone poetry . a poet for all generations." -- Mary
Popham, Louisville Courier-Journal
" Winner of the 35th Annual Lillian Smith Book Award, 2004 A
BookSense 76 Spring 2004 Top 10 Poetry Book Read an excerpt from
the book Listen to Frank X Walker reading on NPR's ""This I
Believe"" segment of Morning Edition. This collection of persona
poems tells the story of the infamous Lewis & Clark expedition
from the point of view of Clark's personal slave, York. The poems
form a narrative of York's inner and outer journey, before, during
and after the expedition--a journey from slavery to freedom, from
the plantation to the great northwest, from servant to soul
yearning to be free. Over the course of the saga and through the
poems, we are treated to subtle and overt commentaries on literacy,
slavery, native Americans, buffalo, the environment, and more.
Though Buffalo Dance purposely references historic accounts and
facts, it is fictionalized poetry, and Frank X Walker's rare blend
of history and art breathes life into an important but overlooked
historical figure. Frank X Walker is the author of Affrilachia and
the soon to be released Black Box, two collections of poetry. He
teaches in the department of English & Theatre and is the
interim Director of the African/African American Studies Program at
Eastern Kentucky University. He is also a visiting professor in Pan
African Studies department at the University of Louisville. A 2004
recipient of the Lillian Smith Book Award, he lives in Lexington,
KY. Click here for Frank Walker's website.
Yes, there is barbecue, but that's just one course of the meal.
With Vinegar and Char the Southern Foodways Alliance celebrates
twenty years of symposia by offering a collection of poems that are
by turns as sophisticated and complex, as vivid and funny, and as
buoyant and poignant as any SFA gathering. The roster of
contributors includes Natasha Trethewey, Robert Morgan, Atsuro
Riley, Adrienne Su, Richard Blanco, Ed Madden, Nikky Finney, Frank
X Walker, Sheryl St. Germain, Molly McCully Brown, and forty-five
more. These poets represent past, current, and future conversations
about what it means to be southern. Throughout the anthology,
region is layered with race, class, sexuality, and other shaping
identities. With an introduction by Sandra Beasley, a
thought-provoking foreword by W. Ralph Eubanks, and luminous
original artwork by Julie Sola, this collection is an ideal gift.
Meant to be savored slowly or devoured at once, these pages are a
perfect way to spend the hour before supper, with a glass of iced
tea?or the hour after, with a pour of bourbon?and a fitting
celebration of the SFA's focus and community.
Around the void left by the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963, the
poems in this collection speak, unleashing the strong emotions both
before and after the moment of assassination. Poems take on the
voices of Evers's widow, Myrlie; his brother, Charles; his
assassin, Byron De La Beckwith; and each of De La Beckwith's two
wives. Except for the book's title, ""Turn me loose,"" which were
his final words, Evers remains in this collection silent. Yet the
poems accumulate facets of the love and hate with which others saw
this man, unghosting him in a way that only imagination makes
possible.
A new collection of poems from award-winning African American poet
Frank X Walker. In this creative foray into persona poems, Walker
immerses himself in the life of African-American jockey Isaac Burns
Murphy (1861-1896). Murphy's legendary career riveted the attention
of the nation and established him as one of the greatest jockeys of
all time. Walker gives us the voices of Murphy and his wife Lucy,
his mentor Eli Jordan, and his parents James and America Burns. A
great teaching book on the neglected history of African-Americans
in the history of thoroughbred racing, the racial tension of the
post-Civil War South and other important themes. The book is a
compelling journey into the heart and mind, family and community of
America's most celebrated black jockey.
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