Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. is an American educator and author from Floyd County, Kentucky.^[1] In 2021, Carver was named the 2022 Kentucky Teacher of the Year,^[2] after teaching French and English at Montgomery County High School.^[3] In 2022, he resigned from his position, citing homophobia,^[4] later that same year testifying before the United States House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.^[5]

Willie is the author of Gay Poems for Red States, a collection of narrative poems published by the University Press of Kentucky in 2023.^[6][7] Gay Poems for Red States was named a Book Riot 2023 Best Book of the Year, ^[8] an IndieBound and American Bookseller's Association's must-have book for poetry lovers,^[9] a Top Ten Best Book of Appalachia by Read Appalachia, ^[10] a top ten 2022 Southern Book in Garden and Gun, ^[11] and a 2023 Top Ten Over-The-Rainbow book by the American Library Association. ^[12] In 2024, Gay Poems for Red States was named a Stonewall Book Award Honor Book. ^[13]

Carver has published poetry and creative writing in 100 Days in Appalachia,^[14] 2RulesofWriting,^[15] Another Chicago Magazine,^[16] Largehearted Boy,^[17] Smoky Blue Literary Magazine,^[18] Good River Review, ^[19] and Salvation South. ^[20]

Carver currently works at the University of Kentucky.^[21] In 2023, he was featured on Good Morning America 3, where he spoke about the need for stories that reflect students' experiences.^[22]