Poetry + Music: Brian Laidlaw + Ken Waldman

Brian Laidlaw is a troubadour-poet from San Francisco. He studied Creative Writing at Stanford and earned his MFA in Poetry at the University of Minnesota. His poems have been published widely in journals including New American Writing, The Iowa Review, Quarter After Eight, Agni, and many others. Paper Darts Press released his acclaimed hybrid poetry/music project called Amoratorium, a vinyl LP with a companion poetry chapbook as the liner notes. His first full-length book of poems, The Stuntman, was published in 2015 by Milkweed Editions; a follow-up called The Mirrormaker is under contract as well. He tours to festivals, colleges, and arts venues around the country, both solo and with his folk band The Family Trade.

Ken Waldman has drawn on his 30 years in Alaska to produce poems, stories, and fiddle tunes that combine into a performance uniquely his. Nine CDs mix Appalachian-style string-band music with original poetry. Eight books include six poetry collections, a memoir, and a children’s book. Since 1995 he’s performed at some of the nation’s leading concert series, festivals, universities, and clubs. Of note are two CDs. Some Favorites, contains tracks from Waldman’s first seven CDs. The double- CD, All Originals, All Traditionals consists of one CD with a five-piece band playing Waldman’s originals, and a second CD of Waldman and friends playing traditional tunes to Alaska-set poetry, and includes a ten-minute treatment of Waldman’s 1996 plane crash near Nome.