Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 7 p.m. in the Bear Gallery

The Bear Gallery is located on the third floor of the Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts building in Pioneer Park, 2300 Airport Way, Fairbanks, Alaska.

Join Ken Waldman for a literary reading on his works:

• Now Entering Alaska Time
• The Writing Party
• To Live on This Earth
• Sports Page

Ken will be doing a literary reading and incorporating music into his poetic performance. Expect him to bring his fiddle and mandolin for an experiential evening of poetry and music! With many of the work comprising Fairbanks-centric themes, Ken will invite Fairbanks friends to play with him in the Bear Gallery during this one-of-a-kind event.

Since 1995 Ken Waldman has combined Appalachian-style string-band music, original poetry, and Alaska-set storytelling for a performance uniquely his–and he continues to vary that combination to best connect with the audience, whatever the setting and venue. A former Fairbanksan and long-time Alaska resident, he’ll feature his recent novel, Now Entering Alaska Time, which is partially set in Fairbanks, and will share other poems and stories of place, including poems in memory of long-time UAF professor Frank Soos, and in memory of Ken’s UAF classmate, and former Alaska writer laureate, Jerah Chadwick.

Ken Waldman moved to Alaska in 1985 to attend the MFA Creative Writing program at UAF. After graduating, he’s lived in Juneau, Sitka, Nome, Juneau (again), and Anchorage. He has drawn on 38 years as an Alaska resident to produce poems, stories, and fiddle tunes that combine into a performance uniquely his. 12 CDs mix Appalachian-style string-band music with original poetry. 20 books include 16 poetry collections, a memoir, a children’s book, a creative writing manual, a novel. Since 1995 he’s toured full-time, performing at leading festivals, concert series, arts centers, and clubs, including the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Dodge Poetry Festival, and Woodford Folk Festival (Queensland, Australia). “Like a Ken Burns movie . . . Always recommended” –Austin Chronicle

To view more of Ken’s work, visit his website at www.kenwaldman.com

This event is free and open to the public.