Loving Through Storytelling: Willie Carver Jr. Explores Appalachia, Identity, and Empathy
Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr., an educator, poet, and storyteller from Floyd County, is preparing to release his second book, Tore All to Pieces. This latest work showcases Carver’s evolution as a writer, stepping into the world of short fiction while staying rooted in the nuanced and heartfelt storytelling that has become his signature.
Carver, who first captured readers’ hearts with Gay Poems for Red States, has once again partnered with the University Press of Kentucky, a publisher he praises for preserving the dignity of artists. Reflecting on his experience, Carver says, “They were so great to me as a queer man with my first book. They operate out of the belief that ‘we want you as you are’ instead of seeking out pre-existing images of Appalachia.” This ethos of authenticity resonates deeply with Carver, whose work is a testament to the power of unvarnished, personal storytelling.
Tore All to Pieces takes readers to the fictitious Kentucky city of Mosely, an imaginary town born from Carver’s creative mind, but one that feels as real and layered as the Appalachian communities he knows so well. The collection features a dozen short stories, each introduced by a poem, offering a hybrid reading experience that blends his poetic roots with his foray into fiction. The stories are populated by characters Carver says he’s “met through life and the creative process” and even dreamed about.
Carver describes the genesis of the book as an almost serendipitous moment while hiking in Montreal. Struggling to climb a hill, he recalled a childhood memory in Floyd County, when he had to walk his bike up a steep incline, only to hear a girl’s taunt: “Them bikes work better when you sit on ‘em.”
While the memory initially felt cruel, Carver’s reflections led him to see the girl not as a villain but as a nuanced figure shaped by her own stories of rejection. That realization, paired with his broader understanding of how non-nuanced stories can simplify people’s complexities, became the heart of this new book.
“That little girl, mean as she was, had so much story to tell. As a storyteller, I have a sacred duty to her humanity. She taught me that there’s no such thing as telling the truth,” Carver says. “We can try to get at the heart of something, but we can never tell the full story.”
This exploration of nuance and humanity is central to Carver’s work. Growing up queer in Appalachia, he has long grappled with the pressure of representation. “Someone’s writing might be the only impression someone gets of a certain kind of person or community,” he says.
For Carver, this responsibility transforms storytelling into a sacred act. “It’s terrifying and holy,” he says, “but stories can fundamentally change the world.”
Carver’s journey as a storyteller is tied to his own quest for self-love. Reflecting on his youth, he recalls the cultural moment when Ellen DeGeneres’s sitcom was canceled in 1997, followed by the debut of Will & Grace the next year. These moments underscored how queer stories were either discarded or celebrated, leaving him wanting to contribute to the latter. With Tore All to Pieces, Carver hopes to counteract flattening narratives by embracing complexity and vulnerability. “I wanted to love myself because I was trained to hate myself,” he says. “I wanted to try as hard as I could to love.”
At its core, Tore All to Pieces is an invitation to empathy. Carver hopes readers will “love someone a bit more and hold back before judging.” His ability to balance anger and empathy is especially poignant in today’s polarized political climate. “We can be angry and empathetic at the same time,” he insists, a perspective that imbues his stories with both urgency and grace.
As Carver continues to build the world of Mosely, he draws inspiration from the wisdom of fellow Appalachian author Crystal Wilkinson, who encouraged him to “not worry about the plot” and just tell the story.
“Human lives aren’t made of a series of actions,” he says. “They’re made of constant change, and we are free to choose what we want to become.”
This freedom has allowed him to create stories that are deeply human, drawing readers into a world where characters are as complex and contradictory as the people we encounter every day. Pointing to the fear bred from polarization, he says, “I can recognize my neighbor’s humanity even while he doesn’t see mine. In fact, his fear of me is very much part of his humanity.”
With Tore All to Pieces, Willie Carver offers more than a collection of stories; he offers a reminder of the transformative power of storytelling. By holding space for nuance and humanity, he invites readers to see themselves and others more clearly, as well as to embrace the terrifying and holy act of truly knowing one another.
