by Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.
Date: Wednesday, July 2 at 9:00 AM PDT
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Description
Gay Poems for Red States
No one will protect you.
Months after being named the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year, Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. announced his decision to leave the public school system. His career as a high school English teacher had spanned more than a decade but ended abruptly―another casualty of the cruel and dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination that is creeping back into the halls of government and the homes of Americans. At the beginning of Carver's career, an administrator warned him about discussing his otherwise openly gay identity at work: "No one will protect you, including me."
A new administration allowed for more freedom, but the initial warning eventually rang true. School officials failed repeatedly to address harassment of students and of Carver himself, until he could no longer endure such a purposeful deterioration of human rights. While Carver's testimony before the House of Representatives brought much-needed attention to the need for protections for LGBTQ+ people in schools, the damage was done.
In Gay Poems for Red States, Carver counters the injustice of a persistent anti-LGBTQ+ movement by asserting that a life full of beauty and pride is possible for everyone. More than a collection of poetry, Carver's earnest and heartfelt verses are for those wishing to discover and understand the vastness of Appalachia, and for the LGBTQ+ Appalachians who long for a future―for a home―in an often unwelcoming place.
About the Author Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.
Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. is an advocate, Kentucky Teacher of the Year, the author of a bestselling collection of narrative poetry about his childhood growing up queer in Appalachia, Gay Poems for Red States (University Press of Kentucky) has garnered many accolades, including:
* a Book Riot Best Book of 2023,
* a Top Ten Best Book of Appalachia by Read Appalachia,
* a top ten 2023 Southern Book in Garden and Gun,
* an IndieBound and American Booksellers Association’s must-have book of 2023,
* a 2023 Top Ten Over-The-Rainbow book by the American Library Association,
* a 2024 Community of Literary Magazines and Presses Pride Month poem selection,
* a 2024 Whippoorwill Book Award Honor Book,
* a 2024 Judy Gaines Young Honor Book Award nominee,
* a 2024 Stonewall Book Award – Barbara Gittings Literature Honor Book.
Carver’s work exists at the intersection of queer identity, Appalachian identity, and the politics of innocence. He is the director of the KY120 United AFT LGBTQ+ Taskforce, where he has lobbied and fought against anti-LGBTQ legislation targeting children. His work with KY120 United is varied and includes
* the creation of digital tools to help teachers understand their rights,
* meeting with representatives to create legislation for single-use bathrooms,
* writing amendments to anti-LGBTQ legislation,
* collaborations with the Kentucky Youth Law Project and Kentucky Humanities to create professional development opportunities teaching schools how to navigate anti-LGBTQ climates and legislation in ways that support LGBTQ youth,
* various keynote addresses and talks given to groups across the state (including pre-service teachers, teachers, administrators, counselors, and others) about the difficulties faced by LGBTQ youth and teachers and ways to support them.
Willie has an MFA in creative writing at the University of Kentucky. He publishes and presents on the subjects of education, marginalization, and identity, and his story has been featured on ABC, CBS, PBS, NPR, and in The Washington Post, Le Monde, and Good Morning America. His story was chosen by Jonathan Van Ness as a story to share for education, and his advocacy has led him to engage President Biden and to testify before the United States Congressional Committee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. His creative work has been published in 100 Days in Appalachia, Young Ravens Literary Review, 2RulesofWriting, Another Chicago Magazine, Largehearted Boy Blog, Smoky Blue Literary Magazine, Miracle Monocle, Good River Review, Salvation South, and Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide.
Carver has spoken across the United States about the impact of the past on our present selves and the ways in which our most underserved students are being harmed by the systems around them. His university speaking engagements University of Kentucky, the University of Tennessee, Morehead State University, Centre College, Universidad Lead de Costa Rica, Berea College, Western Carolina University, Northern Kentucky University, and the Francis Parker School, among many others. He has been invited to speak at Manhattan’s LGBTQ center, Bookmarks of North Carolina, the National Gill Foundation, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Council of Teachers of Foreign Language, Pride at Work, South by Southwest, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the 2023 International Narrative 4 Conference.
Facilitator: Felipe Zurita
Felipe has been bringing awareness to the golden rule and empathy with his energetic Millennial, Latinx, Immigrant, Queer voice and experiences to the compassionate movement for 4 years, joining the Charter for Compassion in 2021 to amplify its reach via social media and projects with his social marketing and project coordination skills.
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