Poet and educator
Frank X Walker
Appalachia · Kentucky
Danville native Frank X Walker helped found the Affrilachian Poets and served as Kentucky poet laureate. His work often uses imagined voices to bring Black Kentuckians and other historical figures into view.
On the shelves
Books in the collection
Picture book
A is for Affrilachia
Frank X Walker
An illustrated alphabet introduces places, people, and traditions in Black Appalachia.
Poetry
Affrilachia
Frank X Walker
Walker’s poems insist on the visibility of Black lives in the language and geography of Appalachia.
Poetry
Buffalo Dance
Frank X Walker
A sequence of poems imagines the perspective of York, the enslaved participant in the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Poetry
Isaac Murphy: I Dedicate This Ride
Frank X Walker
A poetry sequence approaches the life of the celebrated Black jockey through imagined voices.
Poetry
Turn Me Loose
Frank X Walker
Poems use distinct voices to consider the killing of Medgar Evers and the persistence of public memory.
From the Lyric
Continue the story
Reading notes / 01
Black Appalachian voices
Poems, recipes, and stories rooted in Kentucky and the places writers carry with them.
Read Black Appalachian voicesReading notes / 02
Kentucky Black Writers
Poetry, fiction, memoir, and essays by writers with documented Kentucky ties.
Read Kentucky Black WritersReading notes / 03
Reading at the Lyric
An adaptable reading shelf for future author events and conversations.
Read Reading at the Lyric