Every day, something extraordinary happens in our public schools. That’s why we’re relaunching #PublicSchoolProud—to lift up stories like Elk Valley Elementary, where a rebuilt library brought joy & hugs back to students. www.aft.org/news/hugs-an...

When others are banning books, we’re giving them away for free. Through @aft.org’s #ReadingOpensTheWorld campaign, we’ve put more than 10 million books into the hands of kids and families, because every child deserves the joy of reading. www.aft.org/read

As kids head back to school, some districts are removing books & inserting religious content into classrooms. We must defend inclusive, fact-based education. Public schools must be places of truth and inclusion, where every child can learn freely. www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

My gay marriage has already lasted longer than any of Kim Davis's five straight marriages. And she had a helluva head start cause her first one happened when I was in 3rd grade.

My neighbor's cactus suddenly grew hands and looks like a toddler wanting to be picked up. I'm no cactologist, but is this a sign of the End Times?

Phew! I need to sit down after reading that. To sit down and say thank you 💙 50% of all author proceeds of online sales of Gay Poems for Red States and presales of Tore All to Pieces made at CoffeeTree Books will go to EastKY mutual aid. www.coffeetreebooks.com/product-page...

Dear Lord, Make me good. Righteous. Virginal and untouched, like Kim Davis on her fourth wedding night. tinyurl.com/3ww5wtw3

I'm so proud to be sharing this photo essay through The North Meridian Review. This is perhaps the most vulnerable writing I've ever done. I spent my first two decades alive in the closet. And I thought I had come out. But I hadn't. Not fully. thenorthmeridianreview.org/blog/coming-...

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I'm so proud to be sharing this photo essay through The North Meridian Review. This is perhaps the most vulnerable writing I've ever done. I spent my first two decades alive in the closet. And I thought I had come out. But I hadn't. Not fully. thenorthmeridianreview.org/blog/coming-...

Short shorts big calves feet pick. Giving the government workers tracking my social media a little sumpin sumpin 😉

Exactly.

Thank you to everyone for an amazing #TEACH25! I love being with fellow educators—and with public education on a precipice, it’s important that we could be together to learn about safe, welcoming, relevant, and engaging schools.

Got plans for 10/7? Now you do! Come out to the Fuzzy Duck Coffee Shop in Morehead for a book discussion + signing. Lots of great folks will be there & it’s two days after my 38th birthday. Come eat cake and give us some hugs! @williecarver.bsky.social will be there, and we all LOVE him!

We are getting closer every day! I am so excited for this book! You can pre-order a copy of TORE ALL TO PIECES anywhere books are sold—AND you can pre-order a signed copy directly from CoffeeTree Books here: www.coffeetreebooks.com/product-page...

We are getting closer every day! I am so excited for this book! You can pre-order a copy of TORE ALL TO PIECES anywhere books are sold—AND you can pre-order a signed copy directly from CoffeeTree Books here: www.coffeetreebooks.com/product-page...

Here is some wisdom I heard from a old Appalachian granny witch, one of them truths that's been banging around the holler since before these hills knew the destruction of humankind: Turning a lesbian Irish don't make a feller not a pedophile.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Thank you to the Writers Guild Initiative for this lovely interview about TORE ALL TO PIECES and how stories have the power to change the world. writersguildinitiative.org/interview-wi...

Aaah! I'm so exited to share the poem "What if We Butt," published by North Meridian Review. Thank you, @thenorthmeridianreview and thank you @wesley.r.bishop.writer for everything ❤️ You can find the poem here: thenorthmeridianreview.org/blog/what-if...

This is what me flirting looks like. Gay Appalachian Tina Belcher with line breaks.

YAAAY! I am super stoked to announce that I will be publishing my creative non-fiction piece from my forthcoming collection GROOMER called "Caught on Film" in the Miracle Monocle anthology "A Little Sugar in the Tank," which celebrates queer Southern experience.

So Appalachian it will cut you is another way to remind us how sharp Appalachia can be. She is raw. Piercing. Undulled. These are my favorite parts of her—those unwilling to die for the sake of what others want. I've drawn strength from that part over and over again. What a breathtaking review 💓

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #Books #BookSky 💙📚 #BookChallenge Day 3: Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.

I just devoured this book. Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. Gay Poems for Red States Timely. Powerful. Epigraph: the truth will stand when the world’s on fire. — Appalachian Proverb

Willie Carver's GAY POEMS FOR RED STATES (@kentuckypress.bsky.social) is a much-needed collection showing the heartbreak and the beauty of what it is to be LGBTQ+ (and poor) in Appalachia; thanks to @newpages.bsky.social & Nashville Public Library: www.newpages.com/blog/books/b...

"Gay Poems for Red States, Willie Carver’s debut collection of poems, draws heavily from his life growing up gay in rural Kentucky, as well as his years as a high school teacher." Read Kevin Brown's full review on the NewPages Blog. #readingcommunity #bookreview

Just finished "Gay Poems for Red States." @williecarver.bsky.social wrote a great book of poems.

One of MANY amazing lines from this book - a huge thank you to my cousin for sending it to me. Thoughtful, radiant, and heartfelt poetry for sure…

🌈 Join us for a powerful #GlobalRead ft. #Gay #Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver 📖✨ An hour of truth, tenderness, and the fierce beauty of #queer life in unexpected places. July 2 @ 9am PDT, 5pm UTC Moderated by Felipe Zurita Register: charterforcompassion.org/featured/glo...

2/2 “There’s a hell of a boom, and I’m absolutely here for it. I want to lift every voice — Black, Brown, queer, disabled, fat, weird, excluded — across Appalachia,” Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr., author of Gay Poems for Red States, told Truthout.

Queer Appalachian Authors Are Challenging J.D. Vance’s False Narratives Storytelling is pushing back against the dominant idea that queerness and rural life are incompatible. 1/ truthout.org/articles/que...

Could not put this down. I’ve been waiting on a hold for @williecarver.bsky.social’s Gay Poems for Red States from my library for a while. Got tired of waiting, so I bought it yesterday! Who thought a Jerry Springer story would make me cry???

Dear educators who've been harmed by anti-queer arguments: Pride is not a sin. Here's why: blog.heinemann.com/educators-pr...

✨️You can now pre-order TORE ALL TO PIECES at CoffeeTree Books — SIGNED or with a PERSONALIZED NOTE sent DIRECTLY to your house 💙 CoffeeTree has been so very supportive of LGBTQ and Appalachian writers 💙 🛒 You can order your copy here: www.coffeetreebooks.com/product-page...