Affrilachian Poets Crystal Wilkinson and Frank X Walker Will Be Inducted Into The Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame

Excerpt From The Lexington Herald Leader

Written by Linda Blackford

Published January 9th, 2025

“They consider themselves friends, siblings, artistic twins of a sort. So when Crystal Wilkinson and Frank X Walker found out they were being inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame the same year, the award became even more meaningful.

Though they did not know each other as children, they grew up near each other in rural Casey County and Danville, two places that feature heavily in their works. They were founding members of the Affrilachian Poets, and steadily built their substantial literary careers. Now both in their early 60s, Wilkinson and Walker are both creative writing professors at the University of Kentucky with a constant stream of acclaimed projects.

Last year, Wilkinson published the award-winning memoir “Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks,” and became editor of a new line of fiction at the University Press of Kentucky. Walker recently published his 17th book, a collection of poems unearthing newly discovered stories of Black families during the Civil War. The book, titled “Load in Nine Times,” was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.

The Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame ceremony will be held on March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Kentucky Theatre. It’s free and open to the public.”

Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/linda-blackford/article298114928.html#storylink=cpy