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Affrilachian Poets Explore Appalachian Identity

By LuAnn Johnson

Posted November 2, 2022

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[Music]

“For my son.

‘Ritual’

We migrate to the front stoop, still in night clothes to stretch and greet an end of summer sun that peaks over the mountains between tall trees and across rooftops. To kiss his face, to bathe my eyelids, all the leaves, our flowers, and almost every blade of grass leans and reaches with us towards the warmth.

He listens for morning sounds, passing cars and buses, cicadas, birds already hard at work.

At sunset, we turned down all the lights, put on soft music, move much slowly. Whisper. Reopened the blinds and let sleep crawl in.

He closes his eyes, wrapped in the comfort of darkness, learning that life is what happens in between sunrise and sunset.

In the early morning, when his tiny hands clutch their first leaf. It is brown, like us. We both smile up at the tree and the invisible wind that's in it.

As I hold him tight, I wonder what he knows about seasons, about his arrival, how he gave my father permission to leave.

Thank you. (audience applause)”

Frank X. Walker reading his poem ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­“Ritual” from a 2019 video posted online by the The Berry Center.

Walker is a professor and poet, the former poet laureate of Kentucky, as well as the co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets – a group that’s at the center of some upcoming IU Themester events in Bloomington.

The purpose of IU’s Themester is to engage the community in collective learning about a timely topic, and this year’s “theme” is “Identity and Identification,” As part of it, the Affrilachian Poets bring us of a three-part public program that includes a film screening, a poetry reading, and a panel discussion, as well as a creative writing masterclass conducted by Frank X. Walker.

The organizer for these events, Lisa Kwong, who’s a new member of the Affrilachian Poets, was in the studio recently, recording some of her own work for the Poets Weave. While here, she told me more about the group:

 “The Affrilachian Poets were established in 1991, and they are a collective of diverse writers whose work generally centers on family, identity, place, social justice, and/or history. We are committed to challenging stereotypical notions and definitions of Appalachia. I feel like the national narrative of Appalachia…is that it's a poor, light and backwards place, which is very far from the truth. So, we're committed to challenging that stereotype and to also important diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that serve to dismantle institutional racism in our home region. Poet, professor, and former Kentucky poet laureate, Frank X Walker, coined the terms “Affrilachian” and “Affrilachia” and founded the group with other writers of color because of their collective’s example, I found the courage to claim my own identity of AppalAsian because they paved the way, they made it okay to, first of all, change the narrative and to create your own path where there might not be one for you.”
That was Lisa Kwong, program organizer for the upcoming IU Themester events with the Affrilachian Poets on November 4th and 5th, which include a film screening of Coal Black Voices—a documentary by the Affrilachian Poets that offers a glimpse of life in the American Black South and Appalachian regions through images, poetry, and storytelling. That’s on November 4, at 6pm at IU-Bloomington’s, Maxell Hall.
On Saturday, November 5, there’s a panel discussion with the Afrrilachian Poets at 2pm followed by a poetry reading. There’s also a writing workshop that morning with Frank X. Walker. All events are free and open to the public, though registration is required for the workshop. More information about all of this is available on the Themester web calendar at events.iu.edu/themesteriub. I’ll also include links at wfiu.org/arts.

For WFIU Arts. I’m LuAnn Johnson.

[Music]

Frank X. Walker

Frank X. Walker. (Photo by Patrick Mitchell)

Professor, former poet laureate of Kentucky, and the co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets, Frank X. Walker comes to Bloomington this week as part of IU's Themester. 

The purpose of IU’s Themester is to engage the community in collective learning about a timely topic, and this year’s theme is “Identity and Identification.” As part of it, the Affrilachian Poets bring us of a three-part public program that includes a film screening, a poetry reading, and a panel discussion, as well as a creative writing masterclass conducted by Frank X. Walker.

The Affrilachian Poets are a collective of diverse writers rooted in the Appalachian region. They challenge stereotypes about Appalachian community and culture, confronting a notion of Appalachia as being specifically white and poor. 

Bloomington-based poet Lisa Kwong, who’s a new member of the Affrilachian Poets, organized these Themester events, which include a film screening of Coal Black Voices—a documentary by the Affrilachian Poets that offers a glimpse of life in the American Black South and Appalachian regions through images, poetry, and storytelling—on November 4th, at 6pm at IU-Bloomington’s, Maxell Hall.

On Saturday, November 5th, there’s a panel discussion with the Affrilachian Poets at 2pm followed by a poetry reading at 3:30pm. There’s also a writing workshop that morning with Frank X. Walker. 

All events are free and open to the public, though registration is required for the workshop.

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