Frank X Walker
An Interview with Frank X Walker
by Kaye Parker and Randy White
graphic illustrations by Kaye Parker
“I also accept the dual responsibility of existing as a teaching artist and making a commitment
to the identification and development of the next generation of young writers and artists.”
Eastern Kentucky is fortunate to have renowned multidisciplinary artist, Frank X Walker on staff
as Assistant Professor of English and Interim Director of the African/African-American studies
program. Frank X is co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets; he has published numerous works
including Affrilachia and Buffalo Dance, and has served in many board positions in
organizations that promote art and artistic achievements throughout Kentucky. Frank X recently
agreed to allow the staff of Aurora to interview him.
Aurora: Were you a poet even as a child?
Frank X: I was not a poet as a child, but I was already in love with words and stories. Before I
started school boys my age wanted to drive the fire truck; I wanted to drive the bookmobile.
Aurora: Was there anyone special such as a teacher that recognized your talent and encouraged
you in your art?
Frank X: I wasn't encouraged or recognized as a "writer" until high school. All my English and
art teachers were supportive, but it was Gurney Norman at UK that convinced me that I could be
a writer.
Aurora: Who are some of the writers that influenced your writing?
Frank X: Some of the earlier influences that solidified my respect for the power of words
included Frost, EE Cummings, Mark Twain, Langston Hughes, Poe, Alex Haley. As I developed
as a writer and went off to college that list became really tall and wide and included some of my
early teachers; James Baker Hall, Nikky Finney, Sandy Govan, Percival Everett and Gurney
Norman and the writers they introduced me to like Chekov, Ernest Gaines, James Still, Kwame
Dawes, Ishmael Reed, Lorraine Hansberry and August Wilson. I started out writing mostly short
fiction and plays. As my interest in poetry became more focused, I started reading as many new
and established poets as I could...probably choosing to focus on family, place, identity and social
justice topics because I was reading Giovanni, Gwendolyn Brooks, Madhubuti, Baraka, Sonia
Sanchez, more Langston. My reading list is even broader today. I assume that everyone I'm
reading will impact me on some level and my future efforts.
Aurora: At a reading last semester you mentioned that you liked to write poetry with a lot of
basketball metaphors. Why does basketball work so well as a metaphor?
Frank X: I don't really write a lot of basketball poems. I'm a sports junkie and an ex-athlete, and
I recognize the poetry that exists on some courts and fields, but I don't think sports lend
themselves to poetry any more than modern dance or a jazz concert.
Aurora: At a poetry reading by Juan Carlos you asked him what concerned him most when
translating his poems to English: the beauty of the rhythm or the message. Which is most
important to you concerning your own work? Rhythm or message? Why?
Frank X: For me the message is more important than the beauty of a poem, though I hope that I
am enough of a craftsman to not sacrifice the beauty. Teaching/parenting is more important to
me than poeting, so the message will always have a higher priority.
Aurora: In your autobiography you state that you accept the responsibility of teaching,
identifying and developing the next generation of writers. Is it that commitment that brought you
to EKU?
Frank X: I'm serious about my role as a teaching artist and my responsibilities to the next
generation of Kentucky writers. It is why I made a career change. It was my good fortune that I
ended up at Eastern Kentucky University.
Aurora: What advice do you have for beginning writers who want to get published?
Frank X: My advice to beginning writers already wanting to publish is to be clear about your
motivations to write. If it’s to be published, go do something else.
Aurora: How do you see the EKU writing department changing and growing over the next few
years?
Frank X: I really expect EKU's writing department to continue to grow in faculty and students.
With the addition of the MFA program we can develop the best creative writing program in the
region and with real dollars one of the best in the country.
Aurora: But you’re more than a poet. You have also produced video documentaries and
photography. Are there other forms of art that you would like to explore? If so, what draws you
to that art form?
Frank X: I consider myself a multidisciplinary artist. I was trained as a visual artist. I have an
infatuation with film. I have plans to finish the short story series, my Malcolm X play and novel
about black Pentecostals that I’ve been working on for years, but they all take a backseat to my
desire to finish and develop my film projects.
Aurora: Are there strong women in your life? Women that were your “statues of liberty”?
Frank X : As Kelly Ellis would say, "I was raised by women", my Statues of Liberty poem is a
tribute to them.
Aurora: Buffalo Dance is one of your most recent books of poetry. York, the slave who
accompanied William Clark on his expedition, lived in Kentucky with Clark when they began
their journey west. Tell us what inspired you to write this work and how you discovered the voice
of York.
Frank X : My motivation to research and write buffalo dance was my own embarrassment after
realizing how much I didn't know about York's life. Five months of research and a complete
immersion into the story helped me know the story. And, eventually trust the voice that I begin
to hear with the early poems.
Aurora: Frank X Walker will always be associated with the Affrilachian Poetry Movement. Tell
us about the powerful movement and why you believe it is so important.
Frank X: Affrilachia is important because I think we are part of the solution to reversing the
negative and narrow stereotypes associated with Appalachia and Kentucky.
Aurora: You are an artist, an activist and a teacher of young people. What do you believe are the
most important messages that you want to impart to all young people, but especially to young
people of color, through your work?
Frank X : The most important message I'd like to impart to young people of color through my
work is that their family stories are important and to encourage them to find a way to keep them
alive.
Aurora: And finally, you have traveled across the United States and the world as a lecturer and
poet. What keeps you in Kentucky?
Frank X: Though I've felt at home in Cuba, Northern Ireland, Jamaica, and Alabama, almost...,
I'm still in Kentucky because this is were my family is, there is so much work to do, and I'm a
worker bee. I haven't told all our stories. And I truly believe that my humble efforts make a
difference.