Are You Famous? Touring America with Alaska's Fiddling Poet - Softcover

Waldman, Ken

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0980208106 ISBN 13: 9780980208108

Publisher: Catalyst Book Press, 2008

Synopsis

Ken Waldman has toured throughout North America as Alaska's Fiddling Poet since 1995. He is the author of six poetry collections and has released seven CDs. This, his first book of prose, is part memoir, part travel notes, and part artist how-to. A Blue Highways for 2009. "Ken's story is all our stories, collected and distilled by a roving poet/musician possessed of a clear eye and a big heart. Waldman is clearly in the tradition of Walt Whitman, Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Ken Kesey." --Jim Clark, author of Handiwork, Dancing on Canaan's Ruins, and Notions: A Jim Clark Miscellany and Jordan Professor of Southern Literature and Writer in Residence, Barton College, Wilson NC. "A great read. For those who've wondered what it's like to live a life on the road in pursuit of one's passion, here's your book. Those who already know what it's like can point and say, 'It's like this.' From the harrowing plane crash in Alaska all the way to the appearance at Kennedy Center stage, we feel like we're there." --Jeff Talmadge, CoraZong Records recording artist, internationally touring singer/songwriter.

About this title

About the Author:

Ken Waldman has drawn on his 23 years in Alaska to produce poems, stories and fiddle tunes that combine into a performance uniquely his own.

A former college professor, Waldman has had published six full-length poetry collections, a memoir, and has released seven CDs that combine old-time Appalachian-style string-band music with original poetry. Since 1994 he's worked full-time as Alaska's Fiddling Poet, performing at some of the nation's leading universities, festivals, arts centers, and clubs. Over 400 of his poems and stories have appeared in such journals as Beloit Poetry Journal, Chariton Review, Quarterly West, and Yankee.

Though he still performs solo on occasion, Waldman teams with other musicians for a bigger sound when he headlines such venues as Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, The Ark in Ann Arbor, The Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., or else for concert series shows.

He is also a popular visiting artist in classrooms. Employing both his fiddle and a repertoire of proven writing exercises, he has led workshops in over 160 schools in 30 states nationwide, and has been a guest writer at over 80 colleges and universities, including SUNY Brockport, Suffolk University, University of Tennessee, University of Alabama Birmingham, Knox College, University of Nebraska Omaha, Idaho State University, and San Diego State University.

Review:

It's the daydream of just about everybody who dabbles in the arts: Chuck the job, abandon security and devote yourself to the muse. For writers and musicians, that fantasy often goes hand-in-hand with a desire to hit the road. Think Woody Guthrie, Jack Kerouac or Ken Waldman. An itinerant poet, old-time fiddler and teacher, Waldman has been living the folk artist's version of the American dream for more than a decade. In Are You Famous? Touring with Alaska's Fiddling Poet, he describes the realities of the road taken, and offers a travel guide for aspiring free spirits. --Nashville Scene

For the music enthusiast, we endorse countercultural icon Ken Waldman's highway memoir, Are You Famous? Touring America With Alaska's Fiddling Poet. This bearded giant of a man has delighted audiences young and old, from the glittery gutter of Las Vegas to the kudzu-infested mountains of North Carolina, with his musical and storytelling skills. He jots down his thoughts on eking out a meager existence on the road with such honesty and optimism that you'll want to tag along, too--even if the food stinks, gas is pricey and there isn't another paying gig for a two-week stretch. Not for the faint of spirit or the mild at heart, Are You Famous? is the ultimate DIY guide and inspirational text for fiddle players--no matter what regions they inhabit. --Tucson Weekly

Ken Waldman has previously released six poetry collections and seven music CDs. This new book is a departure into non-fiction writing. It is part memoir, part rumination on Waldman's self-identification as Alaskan, and part road trip journal. Waldman has travelled around America for many years, delivering his hybrid poetry and Appalachian fiddle shows at any venue that will have him and pay adequately. For anyone who believes the career performer's life is a glamorous one, this book is a sometimes shocking antidote. Despite critical acclaim for both his poetry and music releases, this is a story of endless hardship. Waldman cuts corners at every turn in an effort to remain solvent, from sleeping in his car at truck stops, to couch surfing at friends' houses. He takes any work he can find, from teaching at universities and schools, to doing poetry readings and musical performances. All the while he continues to write, compose and perform, using his mounting credit card debt to finance his publications and CDs and to get from one gig to the next. The administrative load of organising an endless tour without an agent is phenomenal and Waldman doesn't skimp on the details; the lack of money to pay for health or dental care is a continual concern. Old cars are driven into the ground as Waldman pursues his art; old friends are relied upon to smooth the performer's passage through America's cities and towns. That there are so many of the latter in the author's life testifies to his personal qualities and the artistic value of his work. The reader can't help liking the author for his honesty. He is unashamed to admit to occasional physical or mental breakdowns, and his efforts to maintain a positive attitude in the face of an indifferent public and the even more indifferent (and occasionally vicious) publishing and music industries is laudable. He also has a sense of humour about it all.Chapter 6 is titled 'The Dark Side: Show-Biz'; Chapter 7, 'The Darker Side: Publishing'. Having had some experience of national and international touring as an Australian performance poet and, latterly, singer and musician, it was easy for this reader to recognise the essential truth of Waldman's characterisation of the artist's life, and it is not a pretty picture. Only the most serious and committed need apply for this lifestyle that offers little security, an unreliable income, and, oftentimes, minimal to no respect. --Liz Hall-Downs, The Compulsive Reader

About this edition

• Publisher: Catalyst Book Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0980208106
• ISBN 13: 9780980208108
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 228