Posted on Oct 13, 2006

Murray State University's department of English and philosophy, college of humanities and fine arts, and the creative writing program will host author Ken Waldman as the second author participating in their annual Reading Series. Waldman will be on campus Thursday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the Clara M. Eagle Gallery on the sixth floor of the fine arts building. Following the reading will be a reception and book signing. Leah Stewart, the first author in this year's reading series, spoke on Murray's campus earlier in the month. “The MSU Reading Series has a long history of hosting both emerging and established regional, national and international writers, and we're happy to continue that tradition this year with Leah Stewart and Ken Waldman,” said Brian Barker, the coordinator of creative writing at Murray State. Known as Alaska's fiddling poet, Ken Waldman is a former college professor with a master's degree in fine arts in creative writing from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. For more than 10 years, he has made a living by touring the country and performing his stories, poems and songs at universities, schools and literary festivals. Waldman's books of poetry include As the World Burns, Conditions and Cures, And Shadow Remained, The Secret Visitor's Guide, To Live on This Earth and Nome Poems. Waldman has also released several CDs that feature his old-time fiddle music. He has played at popular venues, including the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, Calif.; the Arts Center in Carrboro, N.C.; Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Minn.; The Knitting Factory in New York City; and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. “We're excited to be able to bring Ken Waldman here all the way from Alaska,” Barker said. Waldman is one of our last true bohemians, making his living by touring the country with his fiddle and his poems. His high-energy performances intersperse poems and old-time fiddle music, and both his music and his poems have deep roots in the American traditions of story and song. His work reminds us again and again what it means to be human, what it means to be a citizen of both the United States and the universe.” For more information on Ken Waldman or the creative writing program at Murray State, contact Brian Barker at (270) 809-4723.