Ken Waldman

November, 2026. How did that happen? 2027 is almost here!

Last month, Ken finished up a 4-week residency in rural Alleghany County, VA before fly-in dates in Salt Lake City and Big Sky, MT. October also marked the publication date of his new memoir (with a provocative title). He invites you to read the first chapter of the book. 

What's next? This special November 7 show near State College PA, plus a Sunday, November 15 return to Clarksdale MS and the superb Holy Moly Theater. The following weekend, Huntsville AL  at the fabulous Lowe Mill--a Friday, November 20 writing workshop and solo show precediing an all-day hang at the Gobble Gobble Hey! small press/zine fest where Ken will peddle books galore, including the brand-new one. Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend he'll be featured at the iconic Everette Maddox reading series at the equally iconic Maple Leaf Bar in Uptown New Orleans. December? A whole month in Newnan GA.

By the way, this page shows the kind of work Ken continues to provide. (And if you want the really deep dive into Ken's days, click this.) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

His twelve CDs of old-time Appalachian-style string-band music include two for children.

His twenty-five books consist of seventeen full-length poetry collections, two memoirs about his life as a touring artist,
three volumes of acrostic poems for kids, a short story collection, and a hybrid book that's part creative writing manual,
part memoir, part full-length collection of poems (about writers and writing). And there's also a novel.

A former college professor with an MFA in Creative Writing, he's been a visiting writer at over 100 colleges and universities,
a visiting artist at over 270 schools in 35 states, and has led workshops from Alaska to Maine.

As a performer, he's played from the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage to the Woodford Folk Festival (Queensland, Australia),
occasionally as a soloist, more often as leader of one of his ever-changing troupes of nationally recognized musicians.

Here's more about the music, the writing, the children's programs, and how they're all coming together under the broader
umbrella of Nomadic Productions.

Highlights? His essay in the Sept./Oct. 2015 issue of Poets & Writers magazine, an essay from over a decade ago, continues                                                                   to feel current (acrostic poems from that piece are in some of the 2025 collections).

2017-2021, Ridgeway Press of Michigan published an eight-volume series of Ken's books. It's a special project.

Below, a pair of 8 1/2-minute video samplers featuring eight acts from his 2016 and 2017 Manhattan to Moose Pass roots
music variety shows, an evening he produces annually in conjunction with January's APAP conference in NYC. In the middle,
Ken Waldman with Willi Carlisle as part of a Ken Waldman & The Wild Ones show at Chico Performances in spring 2019
where Ken was joined by four other musicians. That Willi Carlisle--he's been going places. Check him out!