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A Place Like Mississippi: A Journey Through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape
"This is the book all of us Mississippi writers, dead and alive, need to read. It is indeed a strange but glorious sensation to see your literary and geographic lineage so beautifully and rigorously explored and valued as it's still being created." --Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American MemoirIn A Place Like Mississippi, award-winning author and Mississippi native W. Ralph Eubanks treats us to a literary tour of the evocative landscapes that have inspired writers in every era. From Faulkner to Wright, Welty to Trethewey, Mississippi has been both a backdrop and a central character in some of the most compelling prose and poetry of modern literature.
The journey unfolds on a winding path, touching the muddy Delta, the rolling Hill Country, down to the Gulf Coast, and all points between. In every corner of the state lie the settings that informed hundreds of iconic works.
Immersing us in these spaces, Eubanks helps us understand that Mississippi is not only a state but a state of mind. Or as Faulkner is said to have observed, "To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi."
The journey unfolds on a winding path, touching the muddy Delta, the rolling Hill Country, down to the Gulf Coast, and all points between. In every corner of the state lie the settings that informed hundreds of iconic works.
Immersing us in these spaces, Eubanks helps us understand that Mississippi is not only a state but a state of mind. Or as Faulkner is said to have observed, "To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi."
1 pages, Audio CD
First published March 16, 2021
51 people are currently reading
897 people want to read
About the author
W. Ralph Eubanks
17 books62 followersW. Ralph Eubanks is author of When It's Darkness on the Delta: How America's Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land, which will be published January 13, 2026 by Beacon Press. He is also the author of three other works of nonfiction: A Place Like Mississippi: A Journey Through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape, Ever is a Long Time: A Journey into Mississippis Dark Past, and The House at the End of the Road: The Story of Three Generations of an Interracial Family in the American South. Eubanks has contributed articles to The Washington Post Outlook and Style sections, the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, the Virginia Quarterly Review, The American Scholar, and National Public Radio. He is a recipient of a 2021 Harvard Radcliffe Institute fellowship, a 2007 Guggenheim Fellowship, and was a national fellow at the New America Foundation. Eubanks lives in Washington, D.C., and is faculty fellow and writer in residence at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
March 31, 2021
Best advice for this one....keep a pencil and paper close by. You will want to make a list of these authors that are mentioned. Readers are certainly blessed with some fabulous Southern literature out of Mississippi.
February 21, 2021
This is a thoroughly entertaining look at the rich and bittersweet culture of Mississippi through it's poetry and prose. Some of this country's greatest writers and literature have come from this State, and this book weaves its way through the different regions, their history, and all that it entails through the eyes and words of some very prolific writers. The imagery produced with the wonderful photographs from around the State only tend to strengthen the depth and lend credence to the words written by Mr. Eubanks. A wonderful book! 5 Stars!
March 27, 2021
This outstanding literary road trip through my home state offers a primer on the people, the land, and the literary history of Mississippi. Highly recommended!
November 6, 2020
As a native Mississippian, I was pleased to see my home state through the literary lens that I know so well. As the book breaks down the unique regions of the state, you learn about the depth of history, the richness of its setting, and the writers who saw Mississippi as beautiful, in spite of her scars.
I grew up near the Gulf Coastal region and also spent time in other parts of the state as a child and learned more than I expected, specifically about the modern authors that call Mississippi home.
If you want to fall in love with Mississippi, let this book be your love letter.
I grew up near the Gulf Coastal region and also spent time in other parts of the state as a child and learned more than I expected, specifically about the modern authors that call Mississippi home.
If you want to fall in love with Mississippi, let this book be your love letter.
January 7, 2022
I loved this book. Eubanks takes us through the different regions of Mississippi and highlights authors from each. I learned a lot about this strange horrible wonderful place I call home and the writers who did/do as well. Lots of great pictures included.
October 26, 2024
Mississippi is a hard place to talk about without falling into one or another stereotype. It seems sometimes as if Mississippi exists as a talking point — just ask yourself what associations you have with the state. So many seem to know so much without ever having been there.
There are a couple of things in Mississippi’s cultural heritage that, to me at least, set it apart in very positive terms. Blues music and historical fiction. The latter is the focus of this book — it’s a literary geography of Mississippi, roaming from region to region and pulling out the embedded writers, stories, and sometimes poetry of each. Each regiion is also illustrated with poignant photographs of places and people.
Mississippi writers have a penchant for fictionalizing the places where they live or grew up. Hence the title of the book — A Place Like Mississippi. Faulkner’s transformation of Lafayette County into Yoknapatawpha County is just one example. It continues on into the current day, with Jasmyn Ward’s stories of Bois Sauvage, a fictional version of her hometown of DeLisle on the Gulf Coast.
There is a lengthy bibliography, as well as Eubanks’ skillful weaving of each writer into their context, to send you off with writers that draw your interest.
Fictionalizing what’s real allows themes to be lifted, events to be compressed, ambiguities to be magnified or covered over, . . . . It’s all mythology, all fiction, but as the saying goes, fiction can be truer than fact.
Mississippi is already a place of myths. Famously, there’s the “lost cause,” only obliquely present here. Pointedly, especially in the discussion of the delta region, is the myth of the family farm and the small independent farmers. The modest house on cleared land, supporting a modest living. The myth is that they are still there, but in reality it is agribusiness, mechanized and automated, vast, characterless, and owned by a corporation you’ll never know up close and personal.
The Gulf Coast has persevered but changed, in the wake of Katrina and other, now increasingly regular, violent storms. And the Piney Woods (where I was born, myself). It’s not so piney anymore. Parchman Farm is still Parchman Farm.
The authors discussed here create fictional versions of places that mean something to them. Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Richard Wright, and Ward are ones you have probably heard of. But there are many, many more — Greg Iles, Natasha Trethwewey, William Alexander Percy, Walker Percy, Margaret Walker, and it goes on and on. Some may paint a picture you like, others a picture you don’t like, and still more a picture that just provokes you to think. The last is the best.
Throughout, the authors turn place into character. Or maybe it’s more that every character is inextricably bound to its place. The place speaks through and acts through each character, as it if owns them, not the reverse.
I think this is distinctive to Mississippi and its authors. it’s more than a place, it’s a spirit, both good and evil, dark and light, black and white, violent and peaceful, ruined and saved. In a way it’s a writer’s paradise.
There are a couple of things in Mississippi’s cultural heritage that, to me at least, set it apart in very positive terms. Blues music and historical fiction. The latter is the focus of this book — it’s a literary geography of Mississippi, roaming from region to region and pulling out the embedded writers, stories, and sometimes poetry of each. Each regiion is also illustrated with poignant photographs of places and people.
Mississippi writers have a penchant for fictionalizing the places where they live or grew up. Hence the title of the book — A Place Like Mississippi. Faulkner’s transformation of Lafayette County into Yoknapatawpha County is just one example. It continues on into the current day, with Jasmyn Ward’s stories of Bois Sauvage, a fictional version of her hometown of DeLisle on the Gulf Coast.
There is a lengthy bibliography, as well as Eubanks’ skillful weaving of each writer into their context, to send you off with writers that draw your interest.
Fictionalizing what’s real allows themes to be lifted, events to be compressed, ambiguities to be magnified or covered over, . . . . It’s all mythology, all fiction, but as the saying goes, fiction can be truer than fact.
Mississippi is already a place of myths. Famously, there’s the “lost cause,” only obliquely present here. Pointedly, especially in the discussion of the delta region, is the myth of the family farm and the small independent farmers. The modest house on cleared land, supporting a modest living. The myth is that they are still there, but in reality it is agribusiness, mechanized and automated, vast, characterless, and owned by a corporation you’ll never know up close and personal.
The Gulf Coast has persevered but changed, in the wake of Katrina and other, now increasingly regular, violent storms. And the Piney Woods (where I was born, myself). It’s not so piney anymore. Parchman Farm is still Parchman Farm.
The authors discussed here create fictional versions of places that mean something to them. Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Richard Wright, and Ward are ones you have probably heard of. But there are many, many more — Greg Iles, Natasha Trethwewey, William Alexander Percy, Walker Percy, Margaret Walker, and it goes on and on. Some may paint a picture you like, others a picture you don’t like, and still more a picture that just provokes you to think. The last is the best.
Throughout, the authors turn place into character. Or maybe it’s more that every character is inextricably bound to its place. The place speaks through and acts through each character, as it if owns them, not the reverse.
I think this is distinctive to Mississippi and its authors. it’s more than a place, it’s a spirit, both good and evil, dark and light, black and white, violent and peaceful, ruined and saved. In a way it’s a writer’s paradise.
March 25, 2021
Great conflict produces great art.
A Place Like Mississippi
A Journey Through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape
W. Ralph Eubanks
•
Calling all my Southern literature friends...I have a book new book for you.
•
You all know my adoration for Southern writing and this book is a must for anyone who treasures the special authors and works that the this part of the South spawned. Mississippi is the cradle of Southern literature and the birthplace of some of the most talented writers in our country. From William Faulkner to Jesmyn Ward, Eudora Welty to Greg Iles, I loved that Eubanks covered the old tradition and the new voices. This book helped me to understand WHY the writing that comes out of Mississippi has such a unique voice and why I fell in love with it.
•
The pages are overflowing with gorgeous photos of the Mississippi landscape: from the Gulf, to the Delta, to the town square in Oxford and the piney woods. I learned so much about the books and writing that I am drawn to, why it appeals to me and why it matters in the broad scope of American literature.
•
I know many of you shake your heads at my passion for Faulkner, but if you're a fan too, Eubanks chapters on his writing and his life and his home at Rowan Oak are so illuminating and Eubanks goes on to explain the literary renaissance of Oxford, MS. Oxford was one of the best Southern journey's we took after moving South and I can't wait to go back and visit some of the spots we missed in this this true Southern gem of a town.
•
OK, have I gushed enough? This is the finest literary tour I've ever taken. All the stars.
A Place Like Mississippi
A Journey Through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape
W. Ralph Eubanks
•
Calling all my Southern literature friends...I have a book new book for you.
•
You all know my adoration for Southern writing and this book is a must for anyone who treasures the special authors and works that the this part of the South spawned. Mississippi is the cradle of Southern literature and the birthplace of some of the most talented writers in our country. From William Faulkner to Jesmyn Ward, Eudora Welty to Greg Iles, I loved that Eubanks covered the old tradition and the new voices. This book helped me to understand WHY the writing that comes out of Mississippi has such a unique voice and why I fell in love with it.
•
The pages are overflowing with gorgeous photos of the Mississippi landscape: from the Gulf, to the Delta, to the town square in Oxford and the piney woods. I learned so much about the books and writing that I am drawn to, why it appeals to me and why it matters in the broad scope of American literature.
•
I know many of you shake your heads at my passion for Faulkner, but if you're a fan too, Eubanks chapters on his writing and his life and his home at Rowan Oak are so illuminating and Eubanks goes on to explain the literary renaissance of Oxford, MS. Oxford was one of the best Southern journey's we took after moving South and I can't wait to go back and visit some of the spots we missed in this this true Southern gem of a town.
•
OK, have I gushed enough? This is the finest literary tour I've ever taken. All the stars.
May 21, 2021
I have taken my time to read this book. I wanted to savor every minute of it. The book travels the landscape of Mississippi from the Gulf Coast to the Hill Country and back down to the Delta. When my copy arrived I was surprised. I was not expecting a book that falls somewhere between a coffee table book and a creative non-fiction novel, but that is what this is. The book is full of gorgeous photos from throughout Mississippi. Mississippi’s regions are varied, and Eubanks does a fantastic job making that clear. As he travels with us throughout the state, we are introduced to the writers of the region. You will know some; others you may not know. I have read a great many pieces of Mississippi literature, and still I walked away from this book with a lengthy To Read list. I wish I had this book when I began my Mississippi Writer’s class. The next time I teach it, this book will be the required first reading. If you are a Mississippian interested in the writers of our state and the land they inhabited, this book is for you. If you are a lover of Southern literature, this is a great resource for welcoming you to the Mississippi literary landscape. If you are interested in how large portions of American literature and cultural history stem from one state, this book will open your eyes. It’s all around beautiful in photography and in word.
July 13, 2022
As I continue my reading for my road trip ending in Mississippi I picked this book up. What a fabulous compilation of writing on the literary richness of Mississippi. I enjoyed that he included some of the contemporary greats, such as Kiese Laymon & Jessymn Ward, with the classics that we normally associate with Mississippi. There's also some gorgeous photos of the landscape. I highly recommend this non-fiction coffee table book and am looking forward to hearing Eubanks speak at the Mississippi Book Festival!
March 26, 2021
What a wonderful experience!
I am a native of Queens, New York. I never expected or ever wanted to even visit Mississippi, but work brought me there over forty years ago and, in one sense I have never left. It is that kind of place!
Eubanks speaks of Love and Hate, and Mississippi has a lot of both, but he has found a way to capture both feelings in this astounding book. By traveling the length and breadth of the state and seeing it through the eyes of its many gifted artists he perfectly conveys the ambiguity of sentiments that infect anyone from anywhere that spends time there. | have driven its back roads and highways for all those years, but reading “A Place Like Mississippi” taught me so much that I had never known.
I am an avid reader and Music Lover, so I have long been mystified by the rise of so many fantastic writers and musicians from the soil of The Magnolia State. Even after reading this book, in one sitting by the way, I’m not sure that I can account for that miracle, but my appreciation for their sensitivity has grown so much. There’s just something about the land, its people, and the contradictions of their History that stirs the soul’s creative juices. Eubanks ties these artists’ work so closely to each of the regions he describes that it seems only logical that they would have produced the works they did. He composes a beautiful symphony of landscape and soundtrack that is wonderful to experience. I loved it. Five Stars!
I am a native of Queens, New York. I never expected or ever wanted to even visit Mississippi, but work brought me there over forty years ago and, in one sense I have never left. It is that kind of place!
Eubanks speaks of Love and Hate, and Mississippi has a lot of both, but he has found a way to capture both feelings in this astounding book. By traveling the length and breadth of the state and seeing it through the eyes of its many gifted artists he perfectly conveys the ambiguity of sentiments that infect anyone from anywhere that spends time there. | have driven its back roads and highways for all those years, but reading “A Place Like Mississippi” taught me so much that I had never known.
I am an avid reader and Music Lover, so I have long been mystified by the rise of so many fantastic writers and musicians from the soil of The Magnolia State. Even after reading this book, in one sitting by the way, I’m not sure that I can account for that miracle, but my appreciation for their sensitivity has grown so much. There’s just something about the land, its people, and the contradictions of their History that stirs the soul’s creative juices. Eubanks ties these artists’ work so closely to each of the regions he describes that it seems only logical that they would have produced the works they did. He composes a beautiful symphony of landscape and soundtrack that is wonderful to experience. I loved it. Five Stars!
May 10, 2021
Since high school, Mississippi writers have always been some of my favorites — William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, Jesmyn Ward, Natasha Tretheway, and then I married into Mississippi, so my experience of this book was intimate on two fronts. Eubanks’ title comes from a quote credited to Faulkner: “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi." Based on my experiences, and then those I learned from this book, I agree with Eubanks that this quote is true. I was particularly drawn to Eubanks’ comments about silences. He writes, “I always say that to find a good Mississippi story, you have to explore the silences. It's the things that people don't talk about.” Exploring the silences, adding story to places like Meridian, Jackson, Square Books, Parchman, the Delta... that has been the work of Mississippi writers through the decades, and I loved the way Eubanks wove those voices, stories and perspectives together in this book. On a personal note, I loved the incorporation of Ronzo and the Hoka Lounge... what legends.
June 23, 2025
A true journey to understanding the literary landscape of Mississippi — I learned so much about how each region of the state has influenced so many authors and continues to impact writers today. I’m a little biased, but I really enjoyed the parts of the book that focused on Jackson, Meridian, and Oxford — having lived in these areas of the state, I was able to connect my own experiences of living in these areas with how many of the authors used these areas to shape their writing. The book has truly given me a deeper appreciation for our state and the authors who have influenced literature not only in Mississippi but throughout the entire country.
April 2, 2023
Thoughtful essays on the influence of Mississippi on the literary world. Eubanks reflects on authors native to Mississippi touched by history, culture and music. Eubanks examines how the different geography influenced settings in books looking at the differences between places like Oxford, the Delta and the Piney Woods. He also addresses the question of race from Richard Wright to the awakening of others after the horror of Emmett Till. I enjoyed learning more about authors I knew of an learning about new ones to me. I definitely added a few to my TBR.
January 13, 2025
I really loved this book! I have been wanting to read Eudora Welty’s and William Falker’s literature for a while, and this book gave me the encouragement I needed to start. I enjoyed reading about how Mississippi has influenced literature all over the United States. Plus, it was fun to read many of my favorite memoirs and authors mentioned in this book. The author does a good job of describing how Mississippians constantly walk the line of preserving the past and creating a better future.
April 25, 2021
Beautiful meditation on the history and landscape of Mississippi and how it has inspired and shaped generations of writers and artists. Eubanks love for Mississippi and sorrow for her sins fills every page. Loved!
December 31, 2023
I took my time with this book, and now I have a map of places I need to visit. Loved the writing style, the information provided, the research done for this book, and the layout of the storytelling.
March 28, 2021
Book 18 or 2021 (audiobook)
Maybe you had to be there.
I love writers and reading and I once traveled all the way through Mississippi albeit on Interstate. Further, I've enjoyed many books and movies and writers with Mississippi ties. But I just could not get into this one. (Honestly, I didn't quite finish it. Had a few "pages" to go when I left work Friday and can't be bothered to finish it before starting a new one Monday).
Just coming off Caste, this was an interesting rebound featuring a lot more Black culture. Frankly, that's why I don't like Mississippi. It makes sense that those who grew up and live there would have these immense feelings of hate, love, guilt, shame, remorse...all the things that make good literature. While I had never thought about it that way, Mr. Eubanks does a nice job of explaining it.
I'm utterly fascinated with rivers and bridges and there's no greater in these United States than the Mississippi. Again, Mr. Eubanks explains how many writers use the Mississippi landscape as a character in their books. While a fascinating concept, it did not translate to the page for me.
No doubt more great artists have emerged from Mississippi than my native Kansas but I'm not all in on the group as a whole. I enjoy Grisham sometimes as a writer and always as a person. I've enjoyed some Larry Brown books. Took a second try but fell in love with Donna Tartt's Goldfinch. More likely I've enjoyed stories about Mississippi: The Help, Secret Life of Bees at least feels like Miss., and Mississippi Burning has long been a favorite movie.
Maybe you had to be there.
I love writers and reading and I once traveled all the way through Mississippi albeit on Interstate. Further, I've enjoyed many books and movies and writers with Mississippi ties. But I just could not get into this one. (Honestly, I didn't quite finish it. Had a few "pages" to go when I left work Friday and can't be bothered to finish it before starting a new one Monday).
Just coming off Caste, this was an interesting rebound featuring a lot more Black culture. Frankly, that's why I don't like Mississippi. It makes sense that those who grew up and live there would have these immense feelings of hate, love, guilt, shame, remorse...all the things that make good literature. While I had never thought about it that way, Mr. Eubanks does a nice job of explaining it.
I'm utterly fascinated with rivers and bridges and there's no greater in these United States than the Mississippi. Again, Mr. Eubanks explains how many writers use the Mississippi landscape as a character in their books. While a fascinating concept, it did not translate to the page for me.
No doubt more great artists have emerged from Mississippi than my native Kansas but I'm not all in on the group as a whole. I enjoy Grisham sometimes as a writer and always as a person. I've enjoyed some Larry Brown books. Took a second try but fell in love with Donna Tartt's Goldfinch. More likely I've enjoyed stories about Mississippi: The Help, Secret Life of Bees at least feels like Miss., and Mississippi Burning has long been a favorite movie.
August 31, 2021
This book was so interesting. On a recent trip to MS, I saw this book everywhere and kept picking it up. It has amazing pictures and it explores different regions of the state. The book tells of local history, civil rights challenges, and Native American struggles. The history of MS is brutal, and heartbreaking and the tragedy has leached into the land, the atmosphere. It seems that is why MS turns out such prolific writers. The feeling the book evokes is that MS struggles for hope amidst a tragic past that they can’t overcome because they’re mired in reoccurance and lack of progress. The book explores the different authors and the impacts of events, of the land, of the history that influenced their writing. The imaginary places in MS, created by fiction writers become as real as places in MS.
November 29, 2021
A visually stunning book, from the cover inward to its many photographs documenting the many places and faces of Mississippi. Regarding the writing, Eubanks delivers on the subtitle, giving readers a journey through Mississippi history through the lens of its writers. I learned a good deal about this place that has been my home now for almost ten years from reading A Place Like Mississippi.
There are times in the telling of this tale that Eubanks shows his hand, his particular modernist bent. He views almost all of the history presented here through the lens of race relations and general oppression against anyone viewed as marginalized. This is to be expected today.
Overall, however, I can come away from this book believing that the bent does not take away from the tale told of Mississippi through all of her beauty and tragedy.
There are times in the telling of this tale that Eubanks shows his hand, his particular modernist bent. He views almost all of the history presented here through the lens of race relations and general oppression against anyone viewed as marginalized. This is to be expected today.
Overall, however, I can come away from this book believing that the bent does not take away from the tale told of Mississippi through all of her beauty and tragedy.
November 3, 2023
This is a facinating book that looks at how Mississippi (geography, history, culture, etc) has shaped a wide number of authors from Mississippi. Some of the books and authors, some I did not. But the way in which Mississippi shaped them hslped to shape the canon of American literature. A great read, very insightful, and helps me to think about both Mississippi and various authors and literary works differently.
January 18, 2024
Such a special book - takes us through my home state through the voices of the writers of this place. I'll add a review later - read to write a review for a publication and I can't publish that review here. But I loved this - so many of my favorite writers and favorite places while still being realistic and truthful about Mississippi's horrible past and current problems.
August 18, 2021
I have always had a negative feeling about Mississippi its fine literary legacy not withstanding. This book wiped away some of the harsh and violent history or at least helped me have a better feel for the state. Quite well done!
October 31, 2020
This is a book for anyone who wants to understand the state of Mississippi a little bit better. It breaks the state down into sections and tells you the history of each.
March 18, 2021
This book is a real delight. A literary tour enhanced by gorgeous photography on nearly every page. I loved it – and learnt so much about the writers who come from the state.
March 25, 2021
A great escape through a literary tour of my home state. When finished, I had an entire list of books and authors I wanted to read as well as a list of places to visit.
April 19, 2021
He paints an incredible picture of the history, geography, and reality of the state of Mississippi. Opened my eyes to the beauty of this state. Read this book!!!! It’s good!!!
May 3, 2021
Excellent book! I especially love the gorgeous pictures
September 19, 2024
I have zero hesitation about throwing all five stars at this one...my only regret is that it's been sitting on my TBR shelf for over a year. To get the obvious out of the way: This book is about a literal and a fictional place called Mississippi and the people who have written about it in so many ways over the years. It also happens to be the literal and fictional place where I live and I have read many of the authors that Eubanks chooses to highlight. The authors and locales are too many to to mention here, and I've done my best to read them all thus far; but also realize I still have a ton of work to do. Jesmyn Ward's Gulf Coast, Michael Farris Smith's Piney Woods Eudora Welty's, Kiese Laymon's, Richard Wright's Jackson, Bill Ferris and Greg Iles's Natchez, William Faulkner (and everyone else's) Oxford, Walker Percy's and Nordan Lewis's and Wille Morris's Mississippi Delta...and so many more...are all well-represented in print, and also in photo. (Don't listen to this book! Pick up a hard copy!) Poets like Natasha Trethway and Beth Ann Fennelly and playwrights like Beth Henley are also given their due.
I, your reader, wasn't born in Mississippi, but I *feel* more Mississippian than most. I finished high school on the sands of Biloxi, attended college in the Piney Woods of Perkinston and Hattiesburg and spent too many days picnicking around Rowan Oak and too many nights of my law school days overlooking the Square in Oxford. My career started in Jackson before moving back south, smack dab between Hattiesburg and Gulfport. In between, I've lived in the Kiln, eaten way too many tamales in the Delta and the doughburger at Johnnie's in Tupelo, fished for trout and redfish off of Cat Island, worked with the nuns in Indianola and Mound Bayou, given lectures and hosted community forums in Vicksburg, Clarksdale, and Meridian, jogged along the Tombigbee, and sent kids to schools and camps all over the state....and visited every independent bookstore that the state has to offer. This book went deep into my psyche as to what it is about this state that so many feel compelled to put into word (or song.)
Lastly, from the prologue:
“The Southerner, more than any other Americans, has felt he had something to explain, to justify, to defend, or to affirm.” John Grisham believes Mississippi’s outsized literary output has its origins in suffering, but a particular type of suffering. “Suffering that has been self-inflicted by slavery, war, poverty, injustice, intolerance. Great conflict produces great art, and Mississippi has its share of both.” Poet Natasha Trethewey also notes that the pain in Mississippi, like the pain in other parts of the world, leads to art. She writes, “In his memorial to William Butler Yeats, W. H. Auden wrote ‘Mad Ireland hurt you into poetry.’ Likewise, my native land, my South, my Mississippi . . . hurt me into poetry, inflicting my first wound.”
Like Ireland, Mississippi’s history is filled with suffering that must be explained; it is a place that comes alive in its stories and inspires those stories, which flow through every bend of its winding rivers and across every piece of land within its borders. It is the beauty of the land mixed with the state’s complex history that inspires and perplexes its writers. That is the burden one feels when writing about Mississippi, because it is a place that everyone knows about—or at least claims to—yet few are willing to understand.”
If either of my kids (or my Mississippi nephews and nieces) are reading this...don't bother buying the book because you’ll be getting it for Christmas.
I, your reader, wasn't born in Mississippi, but I *feel* more Mississippian than most. I finished high school on the sands of Biloxi, attended college in the Piney Woods of Perkinston and Hattiesburg and spent too many days picnicking around Rowan Oak and too many nights of my law school days overlooking the Square in Oxford. My career started in Jackson before moving back south, smack dab between Hattiesburg and Gulfport. In between, I've lived in the Kiln, eaten way too many tamales in the Delta and the doughburger at Johnnie's in Tupelo, fished for trout and redfish off of Cat Island, worked with the nuns in Indianola and Mound Bayou, given lectures and hosted community forums in Vicksburg, Clarksdale, and Meridian, jogged along the Tombigbee, and sent kids to schools and camps all over the state....and visited every independent bookstore that the state has to offer. This book went deep into my psyche as to what it is about this state that so many feel compelled to put into word (or song.)
Lastly, from the prologue:
“The Southerner, more than any other Americans, has felt he had something to explain, to justify, to defend, or to affirm.” John Grisham believes Mississippi’s outsized literary output has its origins in suffering, but a particular type of suffering. “Suffering that has been self-inflicted by slavery, war, poverty, injustice, intolerance. Great conflict produces great art, and Mississippi has its share of both.” Poet Natasha Trethewey also notes that the pain in Mississippi, like the pain in other parts of the world, leads to art. She writes, “In his memorial to William Butler Yeats, W. H. Auden wrote ‘Mad Ireland hurt you into poetry.’ Likewise, my native land, my South, my Mississippi . . . hurt me into poetry, inflicting my first wound.”
Like Ireland, Mississippi’s history is filled with suffering that must be explained; it is a place that comes alive in its stories and inspires those stories, which flow through every bend of its winding rivers and across every piece of land within its borders. It is the beauty of the land mixed with the state’s complex history that inspires and perplexes its writers. That is the burden one feels when writing about Mississippi, because it is a place that everyone knows about—or at least claims to—yet few are willing to understand.”
If either of my kids (or my Mississippi nephews and nieces) are reading this...don't bother buying the book because you’ll be getting it for Christmas.
March 14, 2021
Eubanks takes readers on a journey through the real and imagined parts of MS that its people and writers know well. Reading this made me nostalgic for my childhood growing up in rural Central MS, spending lazy weekend and summer days reading the books created by fellow children of MS., traveling the roads and visiting the towns mentioned on the pages, or remembering the views shown in the many beautiful photos that accompany the book's discussions.
MS has produced some of the most prolific writers and artists of the past and present, and Eubanks takes readers into their works and the real world places that inspired them. Using a good dose of historical research, letters, and personal interviews, this work provides readers with an insight into what it is like for people in what many consider an illiterate and backwards state; it doesn't gloss over the conflict between Southern hospitality and racial struggles or the desire for many to push to the future while clinging to an imagined or long forgotten past.
I would recommend this for those that want to understand more about MS, American literature, American Southern History, or just want to understand how something run down or seemingly forgotten can inspire and help produce something fantastical and engaging.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.
MS has produced some of the most prolific writers and artists of the past and present, and Eubanks takes readers into their works and the real world places that inspired them. Using a good dose of historical research, letters, and personal interviews, this work provides readers with an insight into what it is like for people in what many consider an illiterate and backwards state; it doesn't gloss over the conflict between Southern hospitality and racial struggles or the desire for many to push to the future while clinging to an imagined or long forgotten past.
I would recommend this for those that want to understand more about MS, American literature, American Southern History, or just want to understand how something run down or seemingly forgotten can inspire and help produce something fantastical and engaging.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.
March 9, 2021
A Place Like Mississippi, written by W. Ralph Eubanks, captures the never-ending allure of Mississippi like no other book I have ever read. I spent my first 20 years of summers in Biloxi and Gulfport with my extended family. It became a haven for me and a place of beauty. I remember the pine trees, the cicadas, the rivers, bayous, and the most beautiful coastline drive in the entire United States pre-Camille. I still return to Bogue Chitto to visit my brother on his farm and sit a spell while reflecting on this state with a rich yet often tragic historical past blessed with a wealth of marvelous and unforgettable writers and poets. I am a fan of Mississippi authors (I’m looking at you, Greg Isles), and I am thrilled that Mr. Eubanks has highlighted what most feel is an insignificant state yet is so wealthy in culture. I will buy this book, and I will place it prominently so I can pick it up and remember precious Mississippi memories. Not all history is good, but it’s not all bad either. Thank you for this fantastic book, Mr. Eubanks. Bravo. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC but my review and opinions are my own without bias. #nonfiction #aplacelikemississippi @netgalley @wreubanks #mississippi
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