When was the last time an artist took you by the hand and said, “Here, let me show you how the world looks through my eyes”?

Frank X. Walker is Kentucky’s former poet laureate and one of the co-founders of the Affrilachian Poets - a grassroots group of poets of color living in the Appalachian region. Thirty years after their founding, the Affrilachian Poets continue to dismantle the idea that Appalachia is a white region, devoid of literature and the arts.

For decades, Frank’s work has embodied a deeply personal approach and challenged us to see poetry as an urgent voice that can touch on our experience of living in a way other written works can’t. Today, Frank is the Director of the MFA program of the University of Kentucky and he’s mentored hundreds of artists along their path.

He’s the author and editor of a dozen books of poetry and, as you’ll hear, Frank is a lovely, thoughtful, and really cool guy.

You can find Frank here: http://frankxwalker.com/index.html

Check out his books here: http://frankxwalker.com/books.html

Spotify playlist for this episode:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0djkPzw8PWwpv9qaixNZkX

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