"Frank X Walker is known for his vast body of work informed by both his own personal and familial experiences as well as by significant figures in American history. Throughout all of his poetry, Walker maintains the goal of "making the invisible visible," as he states in his literary journal, pluck!. However, in his historical poems, Walker gives a voice to those who have not been actively recorded in history. Five of his poetry collections each center around one of three African American men: York, the slave who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition; Isaac Murphy, one of the greatest jockeys of all time, and Medgar Evers, the civil rights activist. While the lives of these figures are centuries apart, Walker embraces and identifies the undercurrents of gender, family, and cultural healing in each collection. By revisiting the past, Walkers poetry aims to correct omissions, give voice to the unheard, and to strive towards "the healing and reconciliation still needed in America" (Turn me Loose, xxiv). Reckoning with the Past will examine how many of Frank X Walkers poems uncover forgotten, hidden, and disempowered figures from African American history. Author Kristine Yohe will highlight the ways in which Walkers collections of historical poetry promote racial healing through looking back at prior injustice, remove the disconnect between the past and present, and work towards an anti-racist future.

Yohe will mine Walkers five works: Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York (UPK), When Winter Come: The Ascension of York (UPK), Isaac Murphy: I Dedicate This Ride (Old Cove), Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers (Georgia), and one unpublished manuscript being adapted for film, Metamorphosis: The Return of York. By studying these significant titles, Yohe strives to honestly address the often hidden side of Americas history, revealing the need for a deeper discussion of racism in this country. Reckoning with the Past will contribute to the advancing preeminence of Affrilachia and the growing attention that Walkers works deserve, and, in turn, will bring more respect and awareness to the historical lives of York, Isaac Murphy, Medgar Evers, and others. This book will appeal to scholars and teachers of Affrilachia and Appalachian Studies, Black Studies, and Kentucky History, as well as general readers of Walkers poetry"-- Provided by publisher.