WCDH Presents a Special Solo Performance of “Alaska’s Fiddling Poet,” Ken Waldman

Ken Waldman has drawn on his 35 years in Alaska to produce poems, stories, and fiddle tunes that combine into performances uniquely his. Waldman will visit Eureka Springs for a writing residency at the Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow (WCDH), where he will be continuing his work on a series of politically satirical sonnets.

WCDH is pleased to present a solo performance of “Alaska’s Fiddling Poet” on Sunday, May 2, at 4:30 pm. For this show, Waldman will not only share work from many of his eighteen books, and fiddle tunes from his nine CDs, but after each piece, he'll give away the book or CD from which the piece first appeared. The show, then, is part concert, part literary reading, part storytelling experience, and part interactive theater with a gift exchange. The performance will take place at 515 Spring Street in Eureka Springs. Reservations are not required. The performance is free however donations will be gratefully accepted to benefit the WCDH scholarship fund. The fund supports emerging writers and marginalized voices by providing financial support so that they may benefit from a writing residency. Scholarships are awarded on an as-needed basis depending on availability.

Though Waldman will be solo for this show, he teams with other musicians when he headlines such venues as Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse in Berkeley, The Ark in Ann Arbor, The Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and other concert series and festivals. A current favorite accompanist is popular Northwest Arkansas musician and writer, Willi Carlisle. Waldman is also a popular visiting artist in classrooms. Using both his fiddle and a repertoire of proven writing exercises, he has led workshops in over 240 schools in 35 states nationwide and has been a guest writer at over 95 colleges and universities, including the University of Tennessee, University of Alabama Birmingham, Knox College, SUNY Brockport, and Lamar University.

"Waldman combines a vital, raw-edged Appalachian-styled fiddle with unpretentious poem-stories of everyday Alaska life. The poetry and musical establishments may not know what to think of Waldman's genre-merging, but the calm sense of wonder he engenders is easily accessible." --Boston Herald

Ken Waldman is truly an original. A talented poet and writer, he is also an accomplished fiddle player and imaginative composer of new tunes. His performances are as close to traditional fiddle styles as you can get, with a down-to-earth presentation and a stylistic purity that harkens back to the days of Fiddlin' John Carson. . . I recommend him most highly." --Bill Bradbury, Professor of Music and Music Technology, Cal State University San Marcos, San Marcos CA

To learn more about Ken Waldman, visit https://www.kenwaldman.com.