Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

So much more than “a poetry collection!” Gay Poems for Red States chronicles a young man’s life-moments growing up in eastern Kentucky. The poems are honest, poignant, often heartbreaking and speak to gay and straight readers alike. What spoke most to me, a former career English teacher, was Willie Carver’s introduction to the work, his straightforward yet humble recital of his success as a teacher against all odds, resulting in success for his students as well. And yet— after being named Teacher of the Year for the entire state of Kentucky, the publicity amid current political controversies brought anger and unfounded accusations that forced him to leave teaching. An emotional read, and an educational one.

Normally, I do not care for poetry. But I started reading this book because the title intrigued me. Once I began to read, I could not stop. What a way with words this author has!
The book reads brilliantly as we get a sense of who the author is, where he comes from, how life has been for him and who has been important to him. But most of all, we get a sense of place in a way that is able to take the ordinary into the extraordinary. Love shines through.
It's a brilliant book. Everyone should read it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. It's absolutely wonderful and I want to sing its praises widely!

I’ve started reading poetry collections this year, it’s somehow become a thing I do. This was by far and away the best poetry collection I’ve read in this, or possibly any year. There were no real “duds” and the exceptional verses really did stand out in an already great collection. The poems felt very universal while also seeming incredibly specific. The poet’s range and incisive observations lend the collection a broad and at the same time focused and minutely intentional tone. The language is of course beautiful, and every poem has one or two lines that really shine out and stick in your mind. Here is an example I haven’t stopped thinking about since I read it and cannot bear not including, it comes from the end of the poem “Embarrassing”

“Embarrassment is a tactic of war / in which we teach the other / to destroy themselves / while we can say / that our hands / are clean.”

I got chills reading that, it’s stunning stuff.

The author’s insistence on embracing his queerness as well (not instead of) as his Appalachian heritage is admirable and heartening. Especially given the current political climate in many Appalachian states. This is the kind of poetry collection I wish I had stumbled on as a middle/ highschooler, it’s genuinely optimistic in a way that doesn’t downplay the challenges LGBTQ people from this region face.

I would recommend this collection to just about everyone, especially if you’re a bit of an outsider and especially if you're from the Appalachian region. If you read one poetry collection this year, make sure it’s Gay Poems for Red States.

This book of poetry was incredible. The poet's voice comes through so strongly in the writing, I could practically hear him. The poems themselves contain beautiful depths, and they often get there by starting with an apparently mundane topic and then drawing the reader into a more serious emotional space to uncover the beauties and tragedies of life. I don't always love poetry, but this collection touched my heart with each and every work. Truly beautiful, and I will be recommending it to everyone.

Day 7 of #TheSealeyChallenge 2023. Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. published by University Press of Kentucky.
@SealeyChallenge @WillieETCarver @KentuckyPress

The images and sentiment are so familiar to me—my Dad’s from KY and I’m from OH (Jerry Springer was my high school graduation commencement speaker). I know these homes, church ladies, cinderblocks, winter kittens, and McDonald’s drive-thru’s well. I know the room full of books as the only safe place. Carver points a lens on the smile-scented supermarkets and gun-toting brothers.

Some of my favorite moments:

My mother’s knee-length, interstate-cold denim coat is a traveling house.

Eating neckline and taters is the culinary equivalent of saying Ain’t and meaning it as strong as a cuss word.

Sometimes a person will speak truth that comes to them years before they are able to live it.

Emotional, vulnerable poems that immediately resonated with me, reminding me of people I knew in my childhood and throughout my life. The Introduction broke my heart, and you can see the heartbreak and the resistance against what caused it, within the poems. Favorite poems: “Minnie Mouse Toy,” “Embarrassing,” “Salt-Free Funeral," “A Guy Named Casey Who I had Never Met,” “Reassurance”