Mississippi Arts Hour

This week on the Arts Hour, Lauren Rhoades talks with Louis Bourgeois, founder of the Mississippi Prison Writes Initiative, whose goal is to teach and encourage creative writing and the arts in prisons across Mississippi. They’re also joined by Corey Carroll, a formerly incarcerated writer and visual artist whose writing and drawings are included in the recently released anthology, edited by Louis, titled Unit 29: Writing from Parchman Prison. Listen as they discuss the creation of the anthology, which includes the work of dozens of incarcerated writers, as well as the role of the creative arts in prisons Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maria Zeringue talks with writer Minrose Gwin. Gwin is a native of Mississippi who was born in Tupelo. She has devoted much of her writing career to exploring Mississippi's landscapes, food, characters, and history. Her most recent novel, "Beautiful Dreamers," takes place on the MS Gulf Coast and follows a recently divorced single mother, Virginia Feather, her daughter Memory, and Virginia's best friend, Mac McFadden, as she starts her life over and navigates the complexities of her chosen family in the fictional town of Bell Cote. Gwin is the author of 4 novels, a memoir, and four books of literary and cultural criticism, including "Remembering Medgar Evers: Writing the Long Civil Rights Movement." If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt talks to Eliot Parker. Eliot is an author based out of Oxford with a new book titled Double-Crossed. This thriller follows the continued stories of investigator Ronan McCullogh whose past adventures are chronicled in Parker’s earlier works A Knife’s Edge, an Amazon bestseller, and Fragile Brilliance which received the Literary Merit Award from the West Virginia Library Association. He is also the host of his own podcast program, Now Appalachia. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey visits with jazz drummer (and Jackson native) Darrian Douglas. Douglas has been based in New York City for the past several years, but he spent the formative years of his professional career in New Orleans, where he played in Ellis Marsalis’ band, among others. Douglas is also the director of the Second Line Arts Collective, a New Orleans-based nonprofit that provides jazz education for grade school students and professional development workshops for young music professionals... If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Lewis speaks with author and historian Jasmine Holmes. Jasmine is a Jackson native and has written seven books. David and Jasmine talk about her inspirations, her work at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and her latest book, Yonder Come Day. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Poetry is alive and thriving in the Magnolia State! On the Mississippi Poetry Podcast you’ll hear poets sharing their work, telling their stories, and offering tips to help listeners flex their poetic muscles. In this episode, poet Melissa Ginsburg joins host and Mississippi Poet Laureate Catherine Pierce to talk about paper dolls, poetry as a lens, and the magic of focusing on process instead of product. A resource for teachers and community leaders can be found here: https://arts.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Podcast-Supplement_Ginsburg-2.pdf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maria Zeringue talks with artists Robin Whitfield and Shirley Hamilton. Robin is the founder of the non-profit, Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp, which was developed to manage and interpret the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve in Grenada, MS. Shirley is an art teacher, based in Winona, who also serves on the board of Friends of the Chkchiuma Swamp. In this episode, Robin and Shirley discuss their “Enchanted Forest” event at the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve. This community event invites people to engage with nature through a creative and playful lens. They also talk about their own work as artists, which celebrates the connections between nature, art, and community. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Rhoades talks with Max Hipp, a teacher, writer, and musician from Oxford, Mississippi. Hipp's debut collection of short stories, titled WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU OPENS YOUR HEART, was published this year. The characters in this collection howl with loneliness. They've reached the ends of their coping mechanisms and bank accounts and are making terrible life choices and trying to recover in the wake of them. As a reader, it’s impossible to look away. Listen as they discuss the book and Max Hipp’s creative process as both a writer and musician in Oxford. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey talks with Memphis-based writer and filmmaker Willy Bearden about his new memoir, “Mississippi Hippie.” The book tells of his tumultuous childhood in Rolling Fork into his early years in Memphis as a twenty-something. Bearden mixes humorous stories of Delta characters with more somber looks at friends and family he has lost over the years. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt talks to Kyle Hilton, a Jackson-based illustrator. Kyle is also the author of Art History Paper Dolls and Literary Paper Dolls. His work appears in publications like the New York Times, Variety, and The Wall Street Journal. They discuss Kyle’s path to becoming an illustrator and his process of creating unique representations of contemporary media. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey travels to Pontotoc to visit with bluesman Terry “Harmonica” Bean. Bean’s latest record, “Drop Dead on Your Front Door,” has just been released by the Music Maker Foundation in North Carolina. Terry talks about his family roots in the blues, getting started playing in the Delta and his regular work in Europe. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Rhoades talks with children's book author Allen R. Wells and New York Times-bestselling children's book illustrator Shamar Knight-Justice. Their beautiful new picture book, Danté Plays His Blues, was published earlier this year. Danté Plays His Blues is a tender and heartwarming children's book about a boy affected by housing insecurity who learns the power of expressing his feelings through music. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt talks to Dr. Annette Trefzer of the University of Mississippi. Annette, a professor and writer based in Oxford, has edited a new book titled 'Faulkner, Welty, Wright: A Mississippi Confluence.' This collection of comparative scholarship examines connections among these three most influential and acclaimed of Mississippi's writers. Some of her past work has included Exposing Mississippi, a critical examination of Welty's photographs, and Faulkner and the Native South. We will discuss Annette's path to compiling this collection and her thoughts on the connections between these literary giants when you tune into this segment of the Mississippi Arts Hour. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey talks with writer Snowden Wright from Yazoo City. Wright is a native of Meridian and his new book, “The Queen City Detective Agency,” is set there during the 1980s. Wright tells us about his pathway to becoming a writer and his interest in setting a book in his hometown. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kristen Brandt interviews Julie Whitehead. Julie works a freelance writer with a focus on mental health with, and her forthcoming book titled “Hurricane Baby” will release on August 20. This collection of short stories is based on the author’s experiences, observations and speculations about Hurricane Katrina but is presented through the lens of narrative fiction. They discuss Julie’s path to writing this book as well as her upcoming author event at Lemuria Books. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Rhoades talks with artist Noah Saterstrom, whose exhibition What Became of Dr. Smith is currently on display at the Mississippi Museum of Art. What Became of Dr. Smith envisions the life of Saterstrom’s great-grandfather, a traveling optometrist who, according to family lore, disappeared in 1924. Through a years-long search in state, local, and private archives, Saterstrom discovered that his great-grandfather spent the final four decades of his life at the Mississippi State Insane Hospital (also known as the “Old Asylum”) in Jackson, and later at the Mississippi State Hospital in nearby Whitfield. Presented as an immersive narrative painting of 183 canvases that together span 122 feet, What Became of Dr. Smith is the visual culmination of the story that emerged one century after it was erased from his family’s record. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Revisiting a 2023 conversation between Mississippi Arts Commission Director David Lewis and Meridian Symphony Orchestra Education Director Kayla Fuentes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey visits with Jim Beaugez, a music writer based in Clinton. Beaugez has been writing about Mississippi musicians and culture for the past decade for a number of national publications, including Rolling Stone, Smithsonian Magazine and Garden and Gun. He also produced “My Life in Five Riffs,” an online video series that showcased prominent guitar players demonstrating the songs that helped them to develop as musicians. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauren Rhoades talks with author Lawrence Wells, whose memoir, Ghostwriter: Shakespeare, Literary Landmines, and an Eccentric Patron’s Royal Obsession, was just published by the University Press of Mississippi, along with the novel Fair Youth, which he ghostwrote for Gertrude C. Ford. Larry is the director of Yoknapatawpha Press in Oxford, Mississippi, which he established with his late wife, Dean Faulkner Wells. The author of two historical novels, Rommel and the Rebel and Let the Band Play Dixie, Wells’ manuscript Ghostwriter, was awarded the 2014 Faulkner-Wisdom gold medal for narrative non-fiction at the Words and Music Festival in New Orleans. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Larry Morrisey visits with writer Boyce Upholt. He writes articles on the natural world for a wide range of publications. Upholt has just published “The Great River,” a book on the history of man’s attempts to control Mississippi River. The book includes looks at the mound builder civilizations who built along the river, through the steamboat era and to today. Upholt examines the damage to the Mississippi from various efforts to control it over the years and its ability to change and adapt around the controls.. If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please consider contributing to MPB. https://donate.mpbfoundation.org/mspb/podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.