Affrilachian Poets Bus Tour

Posted on March 10, 2009 by leh668
Filed Under Bits & Pieces, Featuring | Leave a Comment

Despite the stereotypes that may exist in the ‘outside’ world, all Appalachian people are not white. That’s the premise behind Frank X. Walker’s invention of the word ‘Affrilachian’, a term which is now in the Oxford-American Dictionary.

In 1991, Walker looked up the word ‘Appalachian’ and found a definition that did not include him.  Specifically, it says that Appalachian people are white and rural.

Not the whole truth, says Walker.  “The whole idea of the word ‘Affrilachian’ is to give people of color a place to belong in this region,” he said in a May 2007 article with the Pittsburgh City Paper.

Walker went on to found an organization to celebrate and share the story of people of color in Appalachia, the Affrilachian Poets. They’ll be in town Thursday night at 8 at the Tricky Fish on the east end of Charleston to present some poetry and visit with the audience that’s there.  It’s part of a 2009 ‘Bus Tour’ around the region.

If Thursday night is already booked for you, check the poets out at the Capital Market during lunch that same day.  You might also be interested in Pluck!, the magazine published by Walker that celebrates Affrilachian arts and culture.  Oh, and p.s., the poets are on Facebook, too.

Comments

Leave a Reply