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Monday, April 29, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
KENTUCKY
ARTS COUNCIL NEWS RELEASE
Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet
Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet
April 17, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Emily B. Moses
Communications Director502-564-3757, ext. 472emilyb.moses@ky.gov |
Poet
Laureate Frank X Walker to be inducted on
Kentucky Writers' Day
Kentucky Writers' Day
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Lexington writer Frank X
Walker will be officially inducted as Kentucky Poet Laureate in a public
ceremony on Kentucky Writers' Day at 10 a.m., April 24, in the Capitol Rotunda.
Kentucky Writers' Day is an annual event organized by the Kentucky Arts Council that celebrates the Commonwealth's strong literary history. It is observed on the birth date of Kentucky native Robert Penn Warren, the first poet laureate of the United States and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes.
"I look forward to celebrating the historic induction of Frank X Walker as Kentucky's first African-American – and youngest – poet laureate," said Governor Steve Beshear, who appointed Walker to the position earlier this year. "Mr. Walker is an accomplished writer and educator and joins a great legacy of prolific Kentucky writers who have served as state poet laureate."
Walker will serve as poet laureate for 2013-14. A poet, author and teacher, he is the author of five collections of poetry and is an established playwright. He currently serves as associate professor in the University of Kentucky Department of English and as director of the African American and Africana Studies program.
"I have found that not enough people in our Commonwealth are aware of the significant contributions Kentucky writers have made to American literature," said Walker. "I am proud to be a part of this literary tradition and am excited to be promoting our collective excellence."
In addition to the induction ceremony, Writers' Day includes readings by past poets laureate Maureen Morehead, Gurney Normal, Jane Gentry Vance, Sena Jeter Naslund, Joe Survant and Richard Taylor. A public reception follows the ceremony.
"We welcome one and all to join in our annual Writers' Day celebration to applaud the Commonwealth's outstanding and unmatched literary legacy," said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. "The event is a great opportunity to meet Kentucky writers and the artists who live and work here."
For more information about Kentucky Writers' Day, visit http://artscouncil.ky.gov/KentuckyArt/WritersDay_about.htm. Plans for local and community Writers' Day events around the state can be viewed on the arts council's website.
The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Kentucky Writers' Day is an annual event organized by the Kentucky Arts Council that celebrates the Commonwealth's strong literary history. It is observed on the birth date of Kentucky native Robert Penn Warren, the first poet laureate of the United States and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes.
"I look forward to celebrating the historic induction of Frank X Walker as Kentucky's first African-American – and youngest – poet laureate," said Governor Steve Beshear, who appointed Walker to the position earlier this year. "Mr. Walker is an accomplished writer and educator and joins a great legacy of prolific Kentucky writers who have served as state poet laureate."
Walker will serve as poet laureate for 2013-14. A poet, author and teacher, he is the author of five collections of poetry and is an established playwright. He currently serves as associate professor in the University of Kentucky Department of English and as director of the African American and Africana Studies program.
"I have found that not enough people in our Commonwealth are aware of the significant contributions Kentucky writers have made to American literature," said Walker. "I am proud to be a part of this literary tradition and am excited to be promoting our collective excellence."
In addition to the induction ceremony, Writers' Day includes readings by past poets laureate Maureen Morehead, Gurney Normal, Jane Gentry Vance, Sena Jeter Naslund, Joe Survant and Richard Taylor. A public reception follows the ceremony.
"We welcome one and all to join in our annual Writers' Day celebration to applaud the Commonwealth's outstanding and unmatched literary legacy," said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. "The event is a great opportunity to meet Kentucky writers and the artists who live and work here."
For more information about Kentucky Writers' Day, visit http://artscouncil.ky.gov/KentuckyArt/WritersDay_about.htm. Plans for local and community Writers' Day events around the state can be viewed on the arts council's website.
The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Congratulations to Verna Rogers, the winner of the tickets!
KENTUCKY BOOK FAIR
invites you to see
DAVID SEDARIS in Louisville
—Live on April 18th
at Whitney Hall at 7:30 p.m.
"LIKE" the KENTUCKY BOOK FAIR on FACEBOOK between April 9th and April 14th and you will be eligible to win TWO FREE TICKETS to see DAVID SEDARIS.
The winner will be
chosen at random. Winner must be 18 years of age to participate. KY Book
Fair Board members and membership are not eligible to participate.
Please “Share” on your Facebook page.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Win Books for yourself and
your public or school library!
Invites
Elementary, Middle School and High
School Students
To Submit Essays Entitled
WHY I READ!
Tell us why you love to spend time
reading!
[Minimum word count of 300 words]
Submissions should be sent to
KBF, Box 715, Frankfort, KY 40602
By May 3, 2013
Winners will be announced on the KBF
Facebook page
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Frank X Walker Named Kentucky Poet Laureate
Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet
Feb. 14, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Frank X
Walker named Kentucky Poet Laureate
FRANKFORT,
Ky. — Governor Steve Beshear has appointed Lexington poet, author and
teacher Frank X Walker as Kentucky poet laureate for 2013-14, the Kentucky Arts
Council announced today. Walker, a native of Danville, will be formally
inducted during a ceremony on Kentucky Writers' Day, April 24, at the Capitol
Rotunda in Frankfort.
Walker is the author of five collections of poetry and is an established playwright. He currently serves as associate professor in the University of Kentucky Department of English and as director of the African American and Africana Studies program. Walker is the state's first African-American poet laureate, and the youngest Kentuckian to be given the honor.
"I hope I will have opportunities to be visible, to serve as a role model for kids who come from humble beginnings like I did," said Walker, 51. "I want to remind them that books are important, developing and using their creativity is important. Everybody is creative, they just need the tools to harness and control their creativity. I grew up in the projects so I want to tell them ‘your circumstance is not an excuse.' If you commit to something, if you work hard and have discipline, you can accomplish anything."
The Kentucky poet laureate promotes the literary arts in Kentucky through readings of his work at meetings, seminars and conferences across the state. Since 1995, the position has been appointed by the governor and is coordinated by the state arts agency. Walker succeeds outgoing poet laureate Maureen Morehead.
"Frank X Walker's deep roots in the Kentucky writing community and his contributions to the state's rich literary history led to a new movement in the arts – one that defined and gave voice to a specific population of Appalachian residents," said Gov. Beshear. "Our state and region are better for it. The Commonwealth is fortunate to have a writer like Frank X Walker living and teaching within our borders, and I am proud to name him the Commonwealth's next poet laureate."
Walker is known internationally for his unique approach to teaching and numerous literary accomplishments. Most famous among them is his creation of the word "Affrilachia," a term that unifies Appalachian identity and the region's African-American culture and history. The word Affrilachia is now included in the Oxford American Dictionary. Walker is a leader of the Affrilachian Poets literary movement that prides itself in giving voice to previously muted and silenced voices and promotes excellence in teaching, writing, art and activism.
"In time, Kentuckians will be able to look back on the work of Frank X Walker and see how it opened doors for the people of the Commonwealth to actively participate in the arts," said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. "I congratulate Frank and look forward to seeing how his work as poet laureate will further inspire the next generation of Kentucky's creative minds."
A Lannan Poetry Fellowship Award recipient, Walker has degrees from the University of Kentucky and Spalding University, as well as honorary doctorates from UK and Transylvania University.
He has lectured, conducted workshops, read poetry and exhibited at more than 300 national conferences and universities including the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry, Northern Ireland. He has taught in Santiago, Cuba; at the University of California at Berkeley; Notre Dame; Appalachian State University and other institutions.
Walker has served as founder and executive director of the Bluegrass Black Arts Consortium and as the program coordinator of the University of Kentucky's King Cultural Center.
He is the recipient of the 2006 Thomas D. Clark Literary Award for Excellence and an Actors Theatre of Louisville Keeper of the Chronicle Award. He has held board positions for the Kentucky Humanities Council, Appalshop and the Kentucky Writers Coalition, as well as a government appointment to the former Cabinet for Education, Arts and Humanities and the Committee on Gifted Education. He has served as vice president of the Kentucky Center for the Arts and the executive director of Kentucky's Governor's School for the Arts. He is a past recipient of an Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council.
Walker's sixth full collection of poetry, "Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers," is due in the spring from the University of Georgia Press.
For more information about Frank X Walker, visit http://artscouncil.ky.gov/KentuckyArt/Poet.htm.
The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Walker is the author of five collections of poetry and is an established playwright. He currently serves as associate professor in the University of Kentucky Department of English and as director of the African American and Africana Studies program. Walker is the state's first African-American poet laureate, and the youngest Kentuckian to be given the honor.
"I hope I will have opportunities to be visible, to serve as a role model for kids who come from humble beginnings like I did," said Walker, 51. "I want to remind them that books are important, developing and using their creativity is important. Everybody is creative, they just need the tools to harness and control their creativity. I grew up in the projects so I want to tell them ‘your circumstance is not an excuse.' If you commit to something, if you work hard and have discipline, you can accomplish anything."
The Kentucky poet laureate promotes the literary arts in Kentucky through readings of his work at meetings, seminars and conferences across the state. Since 1995, the position has been appointed by the governor and is coordinated by the state arts agency. Walker succeeds outgoing poet laureate Maureen Morehead.
"Frank X Walker's deep roots in the Kentucky writing community and his contributions to the state's rich literary history led to a new movement in the arts – one that defined and gave voice to a specific population of Appalachian residents," said Gov. Beshear. "Our state and region are better for it. The Commonwealth is fortunate to have a writer like Frank X Walker living and teaching within our borders, and I am proud to name him the Commonwealth's next poet laureate."
Walker is known internationally for his unique approach to teaching and numerous literary accomplishments. Most famous among them is his creation of the word "Affrilachia," a term that unifies Appalachian identity and the region's African-American culture and history. The word Affrilachia is now included in the Oxford American Dictionary. Walker is a leader of the Affrilachian Poets literary movement that prides itself in giving voice to previously muted and silenced voices and promotes excellence in teaching, writing, art and activism.
"In time, Kentuckians will be able to look back on the work of Frank X Walker and see how it opened doors for the people of the Commonwealth to actively participate in the arts," said Lori Meadows, arts council executive director. "I congratulate Frank and look forward to seeing how his work as poet laureate will further inspire the next generation of Kentucky's creative minds."
A Lannan Poetry Fellowship Award recipient, Walker has degrees from the University of Kentucky and Spalding University, as well as honorary doctorates from UK and Transylvania University.
He has lectured, conducted workshops, read poetry and exhibited at more than 300 national conferences and universities including the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry, Northern Ireland. He has taught in Santiago, Cuba; at the University of California at Berkeley; Notre Dame; Appalachian State University and other institutions.
Walker has served as founder and executive director of the Bluegrass Black Arts Consortium and as the program coordinator of the University of Kentucky's King Cultural Center.
He is the recipient of the 2006 Thomas D. Clark Literary Award for Excellence and an Actors Theatre of Louisville Keeper of the Chronicle Award. He has held board positions for the Kentucky Humanities Council, Appalshop and the Kentucky Writers Coalition, as well as a government appointment to the former Cabinet for Education, Arts and Humanities and the Committee on Gifted Education. He has served as vice president of the Kentucky Center for the Arts and the executive director of Kentucky's Governor's School for the Arts. He is a past recipient of an Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council.
Walker's sixth full collection of poetry, "Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers," is due in the spring from the University of Georgia Press.
For more information about Frank X Walker, visit http://artscouncil.ky.gov/KentuckyArt/Poet.htm.
The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Carl West retires from State Journal
The community is invited to a reception in honor of Carl West and Ron
Herron, to be held at The Glen-Willis House, 900 Wilkinson Blvd., Jan. 29 from
4-6 p.m.
Both men recently retired after distinguished careers in journalism at The State Journal. West was the newspaper’s editor from 1979 until Jan. 31, and Herron spent 43 ½ years on the staff, his last position that of opinion editor.
Both men recently retired after distinguished careers in journalism at The State Journal. West was the newspaper’s editor from 1979 until Jan. 31, and Herron spent 43 ½ years on the staff, his last position that of opinion editor.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Stephan Pastis at 2012 Kentucky Book Fair
KBF volunteers, Amy Thomas and daughter Mina Thomas, with author Stephan Pastis.
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