Happiness is floor to ceiling bookshelves. Wore my The Death Penalty Kills people shirt out today. Proponents of state sanctioned killing imagine removing contagion maybe, just desserts, or righteous punishment. I cannot but see the torment of people unable to resist a system that overpowers them.

For Courtney, who flaises with prooth and lutches not.

There's a special moment in every teacher's life when one of his former gaylings grows up to meet a young man who charms him with a bouquet of flowers & a collection of gay Appalachian poetry that just happens to have been written by their former teacher. Today's that day. Name anything sweeter 💜

“I know I ain’t smart and I don’t know nothing when it comes to poetry, but I did— I bawled my eyes out.” Excerpt from @williecarver.bsky.social's “Ars Audiendi.” It appears in the Fall 2026 collection of Online Exclusives. Listen to Willie read the full poem at the link below: buff.ly/GbeQ7Y4

A poem for my beloved kin at Pikeville Pride. I want to say that I cowrote this poem with two entities sharing their opinions on the meaning of God's love: the Apostle John, son of Zebedee, and folks who spent the day commenting on social media. All my love to all of y'all 💓

From @williecarver.bsky.social www.ms.now/opinion/doll...

Opinion | In a divided country, no one brought us together quite like Dolly

Willie Carver: In a world demanding we choose a side, Dolly loved all sides even harder.

ms.now

For a lot of Southern and Appalachian gay men, Dolly Parton's was the first voice they ever heard say "I love you" in their own accent—and mean them exactly as they are. No qualifiers. No conditions.

As we celebrate #Juneteenth, we recognize the contributions of Black Americans to our country & recommit to the continued fight for opportunity for all. We must pick up the torch of past activists & continue the work to ensure fair representation, equal rights, & pathways to a better life. (1/2)

Great to be with @aft.org members, leaders and partners at @lulacorg.bsky.social's National Convention in Fort Worth this week. I got to speak side by side with 2 icons, @skyeperryman.bsky.social and @maya4rights.bsky.social

Happy Pride, especially to those who are afraid to love themselves.

@williecarver.bsky.social is a state treasure. my friend, chris mccurry, lost ky's "teacher of the year" a few yrs ago & i was pissed. but when i learned it was to willie, then i was like "oh, well that was SUPPOSED to happen!" he's a great poet (as is chris!) - buy his books when you see them.

@williecarver.bsky.social Hey Willie! Check it out! This is at the UPike library ❤️

I’m recommending this book by my friend Cole LeFavour because it’s so beautifully written. Cole’s description of Idaho’s extraordinary natural beauty is breathtaking. (Continued in comments)

Using single-wide trailers, poverty, cars on blocks, and poor dental health alongside working-class or Appalachian grammar to shame people in your political posts doesn't prove you hate conservativism. It shows your contempt for the poor.

My questions for MAGA: Was Jesus Christ a DEI savior? Was Mary a DEI Blessed Virgin? If white folks are better at everything the way y'all preach, why didn't God choose them for hosting the Divine?

I FINALLY got to swing by my local indie bookstore and pick up @williecarver.bsky.social’s new book Tore All To Pieces. I’m a huge fan of his first book, Gay Poems for Red States, and can’t wait to read this one. Congrats on your 2nd book, Willie!!!

MAGA Republicans get mad at LGBTQ people for daring to have sex lives the way my mom used to get mad when we ate junk food while she was on a diet.

forced to choose between slavery & jim crow, blacks would choose jim crow. forced to choose between jim crow & the post-civil rights era, blacks would choose the post‐c.r.e. this era is "better" but none of us wanna politically go back to the 80s or 90s... we're still waiting on actual freedom.

@jamestalarico.bsky.social is the real thing - we had a great conversation last week about public schools, educators, students, the role of religion and labor and hope. And for the Texans we had a good cry about one of my role models, Linda Bridges who led Texas AFT & our Corpus Christi local

Texas AFT@texasaft.org · 7mo ago

After last week's primary election results, Texas AFT COPE has endorsed @jamestalarico.bsky.social for U.S. Senate.👏 His dedicated work on the Public Education Committee during multiple legislative sessions has made Texas AFT confident that Rep. Talarico will stand for education employees in D.C.

Thank you @govandybeshear.bsky.social for standing up for Kentucky kids and public schools. This is what leadership looks like. www.wdrb.com/news/politic...

Beshear vetoes school choice bill, saying voters were 'loud and clear' about diverting public funds

House Bill 1 would give Kentucky families access to the Education Freedom Tax Credit program.

wdrb.com

Y’all, the world is so heavy. But we exist because we stand on the shoulders of our younger selves. At 35. At 25. At 15. At 10. We dreamed. Told stories. Became. Thank you, Campaign for Southern Equality, for publishing this piece 💙 You can read it in its entirety at the link in the comments.

Ready for March? To see this ICE melt? Between today, 2/9, and 3/1, I am donating 100% of my personal earnings from TORE ALL TO PIECES ordered at CoffeeTree Books to the ACLU of Kentucky. Link in comments. Let's help our neighbors. Let's love them.

After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.

My heart is so full. In less than 24 hours, y’all made the audiobook of Gay Poems for Red States a #1 Amazon Bestseller in Poetry About Places. We made that poetry and place Appalachia 💚 Thank you. Happiest of holidays 💛✨️

It’s here—a Christmas Eve Eve Eve miracle 🎄 Gay Poems for Red States is now live on Audible. I recorded it in studio and narrated it myself, which means Appalachian poems get an Appalachian voice 💙 iTunes, Amazon, and other platforms coming in the next few days! Thanks, Dynamix and MAS Comm! 💙

Saying the GOP can't be racist because they've embraced Nicki Minaj is like saying your church can't be homophobic because the preacher is on Grindr.

I can't believe not only that I have a blurb from Peter Parnell — who I have idolized for so many years — but that it would be so tender and beautiful. You can pre-order Tore All to Pieces now anywhere books are sold. Thank you, University Press of Kentucky 💙

Your ancestors were queer.¹ 1. Yours. Specifically.