Reading Richard Wright’s autobiography Black Boy this week, I was suddenly hit with an epiphany. Many writers have found their upbringing in Mississippi as either idyllic or horrific, but all have written excellently about their experience; thus, the state of Mississippi produces quality autobiographies!
As a new manager of the Como Public Library in 1996, I found myself in uncharted waters. I grew up in Tennessee and was unfamiliar with my new adopted state. To gain knowledge, I decided to ask patrons about Mississippi authors or books about the state. A lovely woman suggested Mildred Topp’s Smile Please.
What a state treasure! Mildred’s mother found herself a widow after only five years of marriage and forced to move back to her hometown of Greenwood, MS, in 1907. In order to support herself and her two girls, she opened a photography shop using her late husband’s equipment.
Little Mildred had a keen eye for the characters of Greenwood. Nowhere else will one read about a conjure woman named Mammy Lou, or a cowboy who came to town to steal a widow’s heart. Published in 1948, copies are rare but still available at your public library. Within the book’s cover, readers will be rewarded with photos taken at the studio.
Another excellent autobiography is Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings. Eudora was that little fly on the wall constantly hiding under tables, behind chairs, and in closets waiting for the chance to hear adult conversation. She took those forbidden stories and created the truest characters in the South. Plus, who would not enjoy skating up and down the halls of our state’s Capitol along with young Eudora.
Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi will have you on razor’s edge as she fights for her rights. I consider Anne, a humble sharecropper’s daughter who raised attitude to a new level, to be a modern day hero. Many Mississippian’s can learn from her experiences as she faces the harsh realities of being black and female during the Civil Rights Movement in Woodville, MS.
Two newer autobiographies worth mentioning are Mississippi Sissy by Kevin Sessums and The Peddler’s Grandson by Edward Cohen. Kevin speaks of growing up gay in Forest, MS, and Edward writes of his experiences feeling like the only Jewish man in Jackson, MS.
What would your Mississippi story be if you could write one?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Mississippi Autobiographies (copy)
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18 comments:
They all sound like interesting books!
I read Welty's "One Writer's Beginning" years ago, but remember it being good
My favorite Mississippi autobiography would be Willie Morris, "North Toward Home."
They are Diane! Black Boy is so goodly odd. He is living w/ his Granny and Auntie that have rejected him b/c he won't accept their religion. Instead of praying he writes his first story and the rest is history! :)
They are all good, and I'll read North Toward Home next summer Sage. Thanks! My Mississippi lessons are still incomplete.
I was looking at my list of books, and just know paper readers are going to think me highly liberal. Willie might balance the list?
You know, I can't remember if I read Black Boy (or if it was Native Son) back in college. I'm not sure Morris will make you appear any more mainstream, I think he was pretty liberal. He went on to become the youngest ever editor at Harpers
Sage, Native Son is the fictional story of Bigger Thomas. I got them confused too until I began to read Black Boy. Never again! They are so different and little Richard was a tough dude!
That's funny about Morris. I saw him as a macho hunter/fisherman, but this is my ignorance talking. The only book read of his is My Dog Skip! Bah!
I love Southern stories, and these all sound so interesting! I've been trying to immerse myself in Texas stories since we moved here, too. So much to learn!
Oh, Tiffany! I don't envy you! That sounds like an impossible task, but I have faith in you! :)
I love Anne Moody's book, and I'll be sure to put Eudora Welty's on my list...thanks!
Oh, cool, Gentle Reader! Another Moody lover! I hope you enjoy Eudora. :)
Mississippi also grows Pulitzer Prize poets...Check out Natasha Tretheway's Native Guard.
Oh Maggie, I love your podcast!!! That is you, isn't it? What a lovely idea!
This is so true Ann, but her poetry is based on research from the Civil War and I was going for MS autobiographies; although, she would easily star in an article discussing MS Pulitzer winners along w/ Robert Penn Warren, David Halberstam, Eudora Welty, and William Faulkner. Makes me proud to be a citizen of this state.:)
Ah, thanks, Robin. I'm a mockingbird's dream! ;D But, seriously, I'm trying to provide more access to bloggers through audio. So, now I'm a plogger or ipod-logger or pogger?!?
These sound like great stories. Every now and then, I love to read a good auto/biography. I find other people's lives so fascinating!
Me, too, April! I'm still reading Black Boy, and I'm convinced Richard Wright was a genius. :)
Me, too, April! I'm still reading Black Boy, and I'm convinced Richard Wright was a genius. :)
I just retrieved Black Boy from a free pile and trying to decide if I should pass it on or keep and add to the To Read pile. I think I'll probably hang on to it...
You will find Wright to be a genius, Jupiter Sinclair. Native Son is one of my all time favs, but this one is swinging close. One adjective throughout the book is hunger: food and knowledge.
I published my first book of poetry in February 2008 entitled: Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems.
With this book,I have basically written my autobiography in poems.
Overall it is a celebration of the south and things southern, but more specifically it is about my life growing up in rural Mississippi.As you said in your blog, most people's autobiographies of Mississippi life are either very good memories or very bad . Mine is definitely on the positive, uplifting, feel-good side.There are so many negative connotations associated with Mississippi and the south in general. In my book, I wanted to give a positive glimpse intot he southern way of life.
website: patricianeelydorsey.webs.com
book available: www.reeds.ms/books.asp
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