Willie Carver

Remembering Dolly Parton, Inside Appalachia

This week, we remember the one and only Dolly Parton. Dolly used her musical success to help others. She started the Imagination Library, a free book program for children that included some of her favorites, like the "Little Engine that Could." And, Dolly’s kindness touched people from all walks of life.

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Willie Carver Jr. And Marina Waters, Inside Appalachia

This week, in author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend. Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause. And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.

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The Sweet Story Of Finnamon Buns, Inside Appalachia

This week on Inside Appalachia, a West Virginia baker draws on her Finnish heritage to make a different kind of cinnamon roll. Also, for nearly a century, some of Appalachia’s best wood carvers have trained at a North Carolina folk school. Newcomers are still welcomed in to come learn the craft. And, we have a conversation with Kentucky poet Willie Carver Jr.

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Willie Carver Wants To 'Poke The Bear' With His Book, Gay Poems For Red States

Willie Carver was Kentucky’s teacher of the year in 2021. Carver is openly gay. And not everybody was OK with a gay high school teacher. Carver said he — and his LGBTQ students — faced homophobia and were frequently harassed. And so in 2022, he resigned from the high school. Last summer, he released "Gay Poems for Red States."

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