LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 14, 2026) – [THIS IS AN ENCORE PRESENTATION.] What does it mean to "reckon" with the past — 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, "Reckoning with the Past: The Historical Poetry of Frank X Walker" — a thoughtful, book-length study of Walker's 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 "on the inside of the story," bringing an emotional truth that traditional accounts often can't capture. And while most people won't sit down with "the 300-page version" of history, he belives poetry can invite them in — because "the truth is the grand sum of all those points of view where everybody gets heard."

On this episode of 'Behind the Blue', Yohe and Walker discuss the book, what it means to "reckon" 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 — 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.

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This interview has been edited for time and clarity.