onlineexclusiveF26Carver

Willie Carver Jr.

Ars Audiendi

Words spoken by my mom on the phone with me after she read Anne Sexton’s “Starry Night,” which I had posted to Facebook.

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.

As a kid

I’d take a blanket

way out  

into the yard 

and I’d just look at the stars 

and I’d cry.  

Overwhelmed. Like 

if I’d had me a ladder, 

I woulda climbed.  

Like there’s a connection. 

and Them,  

and it just aches 

down in my bones. 

Like I miss them.  

Like I hope 

they miss me 

somehow.  

I guess that’s kinda dumb.

I don’t know how to say it pretty.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Image by Cesar Lalangui Eras from Pexels

Willie Carver Jr. is a public speaker, queer youth advocate, former Kentucky Teacher of the Year, and the author of Gay Poems for Red States, a Stonewall, American Library Association, Read Appalachia, Whippoorwill, Book Riot, and Global Pride award-winning collection about growing up queer in Appalachia. His fragmented novel, Tore All to Pieces, a Southern Review of Books "Books to Celebrate in June 2026" selection, was published in March 2026 by the University Press of Kentucky.

Willie's work can be found in Southern Humanities Review, Good River Review, The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, Harbor Review, and Appalachian Journal, among others. He has contributed chapters to many books, including Rural Education and Queer Identities (Routledge, 2025) and Trouble in Censorville (Disobedience, 2024). Carver has been featured on MSNBC, NPR, and Good Morning America.

Willie writes from eastern Kentucky and believes everyone deserves to feel that they matter.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Home About Subscribe Guidelines Submit Exclusives West End Roots & Words

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stay Connected to Our Literary Community. Subscribe to Our Substack Roots & Words

Home About Subscribe Guidelines Submit Exclusives West End

Join Our Team

Listen: