Publications

Publications: Creative Works

Books

• Gay Poems for Red States. University Press of Kentucky. June 2023.
• Chapter. Trouble in Censorville: The Far Right’s Assault on Public Education. Disobedience Press. 2024.

Poetry

• “We Were Here.” Discarded, an Anthology. (Forthcoming)
• “Food For Later” and other poems. Disabled Appalachia Anthology. (Forthcoming).
• “A Direct Address, Justin.” Teaching While Queer. (Forthcoming.)
• “You Kids Be Quiet” and “Post Office Walk.” Issue 20. Young Ravens Literary Review. August 2024.
• “Hot Day” and other poems. Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide. July 2024.
• “Praisepoem for the Storyteller.” Appalachian Journal. June 2024.
• “Unto These Men Do Nothing.” Ghost City Press. March 2024.
• The Space Dividing Us: Collection of five poems. Salvation South. April 2024.
• “Blowing Dandelions.” Miracle Monocle. January 2024.
• “Requiem for a Dollar Store Christmas Bear.” Salvation South. December 2023.
• Short collection of poems. Another Chicago Literary Magazine. June 2023.
• “Sunday School Movie.” Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine. August 2023.
• “Waiting for God.” Poem, Good River Review. Fall 2022.
• “Under the Pews.” Poem, Kentucky Dozen. Root Deep, Grow Tall. Fall 2022.
• Foreword. melancholy arcadia by John Compton. Small Harbor Publishing. Spring 2024.
• Foreword. Self Portrait with Severed Head by CD Collins. Ibbetson St. Press. Fall 2023.

Fiction

• “Shortchanged.” Salvation South. Forthcoming, 2024.

Creative Non-Fiction

• “Love the One Who Hates You.” Queer Communion: Essays on Religion in Appalachia. Forthcoming, 2024.
• “My Queerness is My Teacherness.” Rural Education and Queer Identities: Rural and (Out)Rooted. Forthcoming.
• Introduction to Fenton Johnson and Scissors, Paper, Rock conversation guide. Kentucky Humanities. April 2024.
• “Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr.’s Playlist for His Poetry Collection “Gay Poems for Red States.”” Largehearted Boy Blog. June 2023.
• “Appalachia is Quar.” 100 Days in Appalachia: Creators and Innovators Series. May 2023.
• “Hillbilly CRT.” 100 Days in Appalachia: Creators and Innovators Series. May 2023.
• “Our Children Are Hurting.” 100 Days in Appalachia: Creators and Innovators Series. May 2023.
• “Worlds Inside Us.” Reads Rainbow. May 2023.
• “Willie Carver: One Page Feature.” Poets & Writers Magazine. April 2023.
• “Anne Sexton: This is How I Want to Die.” 2 Rules of Writing. April 2023.

Publications: Voice

• “Hope for Educators Under Attack.” Ed Post. Forthcoming–June 2023.
• LGBTQ Educators and Children Series. Video Campaign. Education Post.
• “The GOP is Attacking LGBTQ Youth Through Legislation and our Children Will Suffer.” Courier Journal. 2023.
• “The GOP needs a new monster. LGBTQ Kentuckians are Target.” E-Edition Kentucky.
• “Things Unsaid: Because I Applied.” Kentucky Teacher. Forthcoming Publication. 2023.
• “Hyper Conservative Politicians Have Hijacked Critical Race Theory to Try and Censor Painful Truths.” Courier Journal. 2022.
• “To Love Students, We Must See Them.” Kentucky Teacher. 2022.
• “Christian Academy of Louisville Homework Shows Indoctrination Happening in Private Schools.” Courier Journal. 2022.
• “The Cost for Teachers to Thrive is Change.” Lexington Herald-Leader. 2022.
• “LGBTQ Rights Keep Progressing in the Workplace so Why Not in Schools?” Courier Journal. 2022.
• “As Pride Month Ends, Our LGBTQIA+ Youth Are Under the Worst Attack in Decades.” Ed Post. 2022.
• “Attacks on LGBTQ Students, Teachers for Political Gain is Wrong.” Lexington Herald-Leader. 2022.
• “We Are Everywhere: Queering Rural America.” Shutterstock. 2022 (interview with Grete Miller, Sr. Multimedia Storyteller).
• “KY Education in a ‘Make or Break’ Moment and It Must be Remade.” Lexington Herald-Leader.
• “Do Not Silence Teachers.” American Federation of Teachers: Voices. 2021.

Publications: Research and Applied Research

• “Finding Your Voice.” School for the Performing and Creative Arts. Lexington, KY. 2023.
• “Your Flood and Purpose as Teachers.” Fayette County Public Schools Fine Arts Summit. Lexington, KY. 2023.
• “Protecting LGBTQ+ Youth.” Kids are Worth It State Conference. Louisville. 2023.
• “The Unspoken Obvious: There are Queer Children.” Caudill College Justice Festival. Morehead State University. 2023.
• “Queer K-12 in Appalachia: Protecting Appalachian LGBTQ Youth and Telling Their Stories.” Appalachian Studies Conference. 2023.
• Bon Marché. Meilleur Marché. Open-Access French textbook series. Collaboration with Dr. Karen Taylor. Forthcoming—2023.
• “Finding Identity as a Purpose-Driven Lens in the Destroyed World Language Classroom.” Kentucky World Language Association. 2022.
• LGBTQIA+ Inclusion Professional Development Course. Kentucky Entertainment Television. 2022 (interviews completed with Marianne Mosley).
• “A World with All Kinds of People.” On Board. New York State School Board Association. 2022.
• “Broadening and Blurring Identity.” American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages Professional Development Digital Series.
• “What’s in a Name? Being a Karen and Other Nomenclatural Trials of 2021.” Kentucky Philological Society. 2021.
• “Using Literature and Argument as Means of Increasing Sociological Awareness and Non-Binary Thinking.” Council Chronicle. 2021 (collaboration with Abby Thomas).

Speaking Engagements

• “Hope as a Form of Advocacy.” Morehead State University. October 2023.
• “You Are Powerful.” Pikeville Pride. October 2023.
• “Who Were You Meant to Be? “Council of Chief State School Officers. Washington, DC. August 2023.
• “Love, Learning, and Hope.” The Learning Lab Townhall. July 2023.
• “What Appalachia Can Teach the World.” Groundswell Summitt. Forthcoming. July 2023.
• “The Power of Storytelling: Building Connection and Harnessing Joy through the Story Exchange.” NNSTOY, Louisville. Forthcoming—June 2023.
• “Education Needs Our Help.” Keynote. Gill Foundation. May 2023.
• “The Universe Wants you to Succeed.” Ted Ed Talk. CCSSO, Washington, D.C. April 2023.
• “You are the Author of What You Can Do.” bell hooks Center. Berea College. April 2023.
• Special Speaker. “Building Hope and Resilience in Advocacy.” Potter College of Arts and Letters” Western Kentucky University. March 2023.
• Speaker. “Protecting Students from Bills Targeting Them. ” Office of LGBTQ+ Resources. Dinkle-Mas. What’s the T? University of Kentucky.
• Keynote. “Protecting Teachers.” Educator Defense Fund. Campaign for our Shared Future. South by Southwest, Austin, Texas. 2023.
• “Log on As You Are.” Pikeville Pride Fundraiser. March 2023.
• Invited Speaker. Congressional Testimony, United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. 2022.
• Speaking Event: “Speaking Up Before It’s Too LATE: Why and Howe to Push Back Against Anti-LGBTQ Hatred.” Office of Inclusive Excellence in the College of Arts and Science, University of Kentucky. 2022.
• Keynote: “Can You Hear Us? Supporting Rural Minoritized Voices.” In Reach. 2022.
• Invited Speaker: “Saving the LGBTQ Student and Teacher.” American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language. 2022.
• Invited Speaker: “Finding the Hope and Pride in Pain and Threats.” Pikeville Pride. 2022.
• Keynote: “A Love Letter to Language Teachers.” Kentucky World Language Association. 2022.
• Keynote: “LGBTQ Inclusion as a Health Crisis.” Howard L Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum. 2022.
• Keynote: “Love as a Lens for Education: How We Miss the Mark Without a Cohesive Purpose in Education.” Ed Rising. 2022.
• Keynote: “Find Your Voice, Find Your Freedom.” Owen County PRISM. 2022.
• Invited Speaker: “How to be Accountable to Equity and Inclusion to Groups that Can’t be Easily Measured.” EdCamp. 2022.
• Keynote: “The Threat We Must Face Together: Anti-LGBTQ Hysteria in K-12.” Pride at Work Conference, Minneapolis. 2022.
• Keynote: “Voice as a Means to Being Whole.” Root Deep, Grow Tall. Hindman Settlement School. 2022.
• Invited Speaker: “Solutions for Maintaining a Healthily Diverse Curriculum in the Wake of Anti-CRT (bill) Culture.” EdCamp. 2022.
• Keynote: “Speaking Up for the Voiceless.” Kentucky LGBTQIA+ Democratic Caucus. 2022.
• Keynote: “Advocacy and Service-Learning as Keys to LGBTQ Student Retention.” KDE Persistence to Graduation Conference. 2021