Acclaimed author and 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. to speak at MSU

MURRAY, Ky. – Acclaimed author, native Kentuckian and 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. will speak in the Freed Curd Auditorium in the Collins Center for Industry and Technology on Murray State University’s campus at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 18.

Carver’s talk will highlight his award-winning book “Gay Poems for Red States,” a collection of narrative poetry about growing up queer in Appalachia. Sponsored by Murray State’s Pride Center with assistance from the Department of English and Philosophy, the lecture is free and open to the public. 

Carver is a candidate for the Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry at the University of Kentucky. Originally from Floyd County, Kentucky, Carver spent over a decade teaching French and English at Montgomery County High School in Mount Sterling, 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 numerous print publications. His advocacy has led him to action such as testifying before the United States House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

“Gay Poems for Red States” has been named a Book Riot Best Book of 2023, a Top Ten Best Book of Appalachia by Read Appalachia, an IndieBound and American Bookseller Association’s must-have book, a 2023 Top Ten Over-The-Rainbow book by the American Library Association and was awarded a 2024 Stonewall Book Award – Barbara Gittings Literature Honor Book Award. Other creative works of his have appeared in publications including 100 Days in Appalachia, Smoky Blue Literary Magazine, Good River Review and others.

“We have wonderfully creative students who are learning and striving to tell their own stories and create their own narratives. When they are able to hear from and connect with individuals who have made those dreams reality, it inspires them to continue pursuing their passions here at Murray State,” said Abigail Cox, Murray State University Pride Center director. “We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to partner with the Creative Writing Committee and the Office of Development to present this opportunity to our students.”

In her review of the book, fellow renowned author and past Kentucky Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson said that Carver had written “a memoir of narrative poems that poignantly explore his experience as a gay man in Appalachia – through food, religion, heartache, and a deep-bone love for the hollers, hills and the people. These poems hold your gaze and your ear.”

For more information about the event, contact Abigail Cox, Murray State University Pride Center Director at acox33@murraystate.edu or Kala Allen-Dunn, Office of Development at kallendunn@murraystate.edu.

For more information about the Pride Center, or to make a gift to support the work of the Pride Center on Murray State’s campus, visit murraystate.edu/lgbt.