Kirk Judd

Biography

Kirk Judd is a talented poet and performer originally from Wayne County, WV. His first volume of poetry Field of Vision was published in Huntington in 1986 by Aegina Press, and a second collection Tao Billy was released in the Spring of 1996 by Trillium Press of St. Albans. His work has appeared in many respected regional magazines and has been used in Appalachian Poetry classes at the University of Tennessee, Marshall University, and Southern West Virginia Community College. A co-editor with Dr. Barbara Smith of the widely acclaimed anthology, Wild, Sweet Notes: 50 Years of West Virginia Poetry 1950–1999, he has been featured three times on American Public Radio on “The Poet and The Poem” with WV native Grace Cavalieri.

Kirk was a member of the Appalachian Literary League, and helped found West Virginia Writers, Inc. in 1977. He has served that organization in various capacities, including two terms as vice president and two terms as president, and remains active in the group. In 1996, he was awarded the prestigious J.U.G. award by the organization for service to writers throughout the state. He was an included poet and a member of the editorial board of VENUE, a highly acclaimed anthology of widely diversified artists which was published in 1988. In September 1996, Kirk’s work was included in a South American cultural exchange, and was translated and performed on university campuses and in native villages in Brazil.

A graduate of Marshall University, Judd has been showcased as a performing artist for numerous events around the region, including An Evening of West Virginia Poetry, the 1979 installation of Louise McNeill Pease as the Poet Laureate of West Virginia. Kirk has performed at conferences and festivals across the State, and his reputation as a performance poet is well established. He has appeared with many traditional musicians with such noted performers as The Bing Brothers, John Blisard, Bobby Taylor, Keith McManus, Mike Seeger, Hazel Dickens, and Tracy Schwarz and Ginny Hawker. In 1996 and 1997, Kirk participated with a group of musicians, poets, singers and dancers in a touring concert troupe, The Appalachian Americans Performing Arts Ensemble. Kirk and his writing partner, Sherrell Wigal of Parkersburg, were invited to present the annual Brandon Humanities Series Lecture at Alderson-Broaddus College in 1999.

In 1997, with other prominent West Virginia artists, Kirk founded Allegheny Echoes, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to the support and preservation of the State’s cultural heritage arts. The organization sponsors concerts and presentations around the region, and conducts a weeklong series of workshops each summer in Pocahontas County, WV, featuring classes in traditional music, crafts, and creative writing. In October 2001, Kirk and several other Allegheny Echoes instructors toured Ireland, presenting a series of performances linking the traditional old-time and bluegrass music of Appalachia back to its roots in Irish and Scottish fiddle tunes. Kirk’s work was used as a featured quote and the conclusion in West Virginia Public Television’s 2002 animated production of WV author Frank Stockton’s The Griffin and the Minor Canon. Recently, he has worked with Writer’s Digest on their annual international competitions, serving as a final judge for the 2000 poetry category and evaluating self-published books of poetry for 2001 and 2002.