The Fox at Dawn

“Depends. You ever consider switching to Marlboro?”

-Willie Carver

I’m grateful to have met Willie Carver a couple of years ago.  I first learned of him through Twitter, back when it was Twitter and I was still on it. I knew him first as the Kentucky Teacher of the Year who was driven from his school by the hatefulness unleashed on him and his students. Then his book came out “Gay Poems for Red States” and I knew I wanted to meet him. Like so many others, he was drawn to Hindman and that is where we met. We’ve attended workshops together and I’ve come to his retreats and taken his classes. He is, indeed, a master educator. I’ve been blessed to get him to come to my school as a speaker. My students loved him, as I knew they would.  Hilarious, brilliant, uncompromising, he is a lighthouse for those seeking the safety of justice, acceptance and love. 

This line is from “Gas Station” a short story published in the Winter 2024 issue of Untelling: Literary and Arts magazine. Gay Poems for Red States has won a boatload of well-earned awards.  I’m really looking forward to his novel coming out in the spring:  Tore All to Pieces.

Please learn more about him and the good trouble he is always getting into:

http://williecarver.com

https://pridesource.com/article/his-world-caught-fire-but-willie-carver-wont-stop-advocating-for-queer-students-everywhere

https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781985903708/tore-all-to-pieces/

My Advent Tree this year is dedicated to my writer friends and teachers. I am so grateful for all the light you shine in the darkness. 

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