Participation Type
Paper
Presentation #1 Title
Affrilachian Poets and the Real Professor X: Rhetoric of Superheroes and Frank X Walker
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Frank X Walker’s life, his poetry, and the scholarship surrounding his work elicits fantastic themes of the superhero. As my capstone research for a Certificate in Rhetoric and Composition, I have rhetorically analyzed these areas of Walker’s life and work, demonstrating the uncanny relationships between himself and superheroes, most notably Professor X, the leader of the X-Men. Using research in comic books/superheroes, Foucault’s “What Is An Author?”, scholarship on Frank X Walker, and selections from his seven poetry collections, I work to show the relationship Walker has with the rhetoric of superheroes, as well as relationships with other members of the Affrilachian Poets, most notably from three members published in the poetry anthology, Drawn to Marvel: Poems from the Comic Books, but also in his creation of a super-team, the Affrilachian Poets. I propose to present my research, which demonstrates among several things, his mission (“making the invisible visible”), his powers (notably, creating the word “Affrilachia”), and his identity (which in superhero rhetoric encompasses both a code name, i.e., Frank X Walker; and a costume, which I will show in images of Walker in person and in comic representations of himself). In looking at Frank X Walker in this way, I have found not only a new kind writer in Appalachian literature, but perhaps even a resurgence in the hero character of many folk tales from the region.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Forrest Gray Yerman is a graduate student at Appalachian State University (ASU), working towards a masters degree in Appalachian Studies and a Certificate in Rhetoric & Composition. He graduated from ASU summa cum laude with an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing with a minor in Spanish.
Affrilachian Poets and the Real Professor X: Rhetoric of Superheroes and Frank X Walker
Frank X Walker’s life, his poetry, and the scholarship surrounding his work elicits fantastic themes of the superhero. As my capstone research for a Certificate in Rhetoric and Composition, I have rhetorically analyzed these areas of Walker’s life and work, demonstrating the uncanny relationships between himself and superheroes, most notably Professor X, the leader of the X-Men. Using research in comic books/superheroes, Foucault’s “What Is An Author?”, scholarship on Frank X Walker, and selections from his seven poetry collections, I work to show the relationship Walker has with the rhetoric of superheroes, as well as relationships with other members of the Affrilachian Poets, most notably from three members published in the poetry anthology, Drawn to Marvel: Poems from the Comic Books, but also in his creation of a super-team, the Affrilachian Poets. I propose to present my research, which demonstrates among several things, his mission (“making the invisible visible”), his powers (notably, creating the word “Affrilachia”), and his identity (which in superhero rhetoric encompasses both a code name, i.e., Frank X Walker; and a costume, which I will show in images of Walker in person and in comic representations of himself). In looking at Frank X Walker in this way, I have found not only a new kind writer in Appalachian literature, but perhaps even a resurgence in the hero character of many folk tales from the region.
