{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"February 27, 2026 - Kristine Yohe & Frank X Walker (Reckoning with the Past: The Historical Poetry of Frank X Walker)","description":" LEXINGTON, Ky. (February 27, 2026) \u2013 What does it mean to \u201creckon\u201d with the past \u2014 not as a distant record, but as a living force that still shapes our communities, our classrooms and our shared civic life? Kristine Yohe, a professor of English at Northern Kentucky University, explores that question in her new book, \u201cReckoning with the Past: The Historical Poetry of Frank X Walker\u201d \u2014 a thoughtful, book-length study of Walker\u2019s historical persona poetry. In that work, Walker gives voice to pivotal figures such as York, Isaac Murphy and Medgar Evers, inviting readers to engage history with honesty, empathy and deeper context.   Walker, a UK professor, poet, and the first African American writer to be named Kentucky Poet Laureate, says historical persona poetry can put readers \u201con the inside of the story,\u201d bringing an emotional truth that traditional accounts often can\u2019t capture. And while most people won\u2019t sit down with \u201cthe 300-page version\u201d of history, he belives poetry can invite them in \u2014 because \u201cthe truth is the grand sum of all those points of view where everybody gets heard.\u201d On this episode of \u2018Behind the Blue\u2019, Yohe and Walker discuss the book, what it means to \u201creckon\u201d with the past, and why literature can help communities confront both the good and the painful realities that shape the American story. The conversation also explores how Yohe and Walker bring this work into the classroom \u2014 what surprises students most when they encounter these histories for the first time, and how research, imagination and craft can help students build empathy, sharpen critical thinking and better understand the relationship between past and present. \u2018Behind the Blue\u2019 is available via a variety of podcast providers, including Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe to receive new episodes each week, featuring UK\u2019s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists, writers and the most important news impacting the university.  \u2018Behind the Blue\u2019 is a production of the University of Kentucky. Transcripts for most episodes are now embedded in the audio file and can be accessed in many podcast apps during playback. Transcripts for older episodes remain available on the show\u2019s blog page.   To discover how the University of Kentucky is advancing our Commonwealth, click here. This interview has been edited for time and clarity. ","author_name":"Behind the Blue","author_url":"http:\/\/behindtheblue.libsyn.com\/podcast","html":"