Affrilachia.

Affrilachia by Frank X. Walker Old Cove Press, January 2000, $12.50, ISBN 0-9675424-0-5

Tilling the soil of collective memory, Walker yields poems in homage to the cultural presence of black folk in Appalachia. Readers across the country, and in Walker's native Kentucky, will nod in recognition of the characters who grace his pages. "Statues of Liberty" honors the lineage of African American women, telling the herstory like it is with these uncluttered lines: "they birthed civil and human rights ... sacrificed their then/to pave the way for a NOW."

In "Ed Works," sculptor Ed Hamilton becomes a "glory-us sigh-entist" and "ankh-utech," as Walker's fresh phraseology announces this poet's stance as a neo-griot. Linking artists of the African Diaspora, he gives a Spanglish shout-out to "blackfoot &/ashanti/worshippers del sol" in the poem "Jibaros"--a song of solidarity.

Though Walker's language occasionally buckles under the weight of his subject matter, his poems successfully convey a strident lyricism, playful even in their sociopolitical intent. Such a poem is "Lil Kings," an inventive romp hinged on the question: "what if the good revren doctah/mlk jr/was ... not a pastor/but a little faster ... quoting gangsta rap/not gandhi ... could he still/be king?"

In his willingness to re-imagine the signs and emblems of our era, Walker propels himself into that visionary space occupied by artisans of the word. If future projects bring the fruit of what is seeded in Affrilachia, Walker may provide us with a voice that feeds us for many seasons to come. [Editor's Note: See also the feature story, "There's Soul in Them Hills," page 50.]

Kharma Mayet Johnson is a poet, performance artist and freelance writer living in Brooklyn, New York.