Mississippi’s Crown Jewel

I have a deep love for Mississippi. And like every relationship, there are good and bad moments. Sometimes the bad moments are crushing — you wonder why you feel the way you do about our home and shake your fist at the sky. It might be a news story or the actions of some moron who brings shame to us all. Your heart just sinks because you know we are better than that.

But then there are the good moments, actually great ones. They are the people, things, events, stories, etc. that make our hearts swell in pride. They take the good things that we all know to be true and take them out on a national stage. It’s a chance for us to show off what we do really well. It’s our giving, our storytelling, our hospitality, our talent.

It’s that moment when we can show the world how great we truly are.

The Mississippi Book Festival is one of those moments. Since it’s inception just a few years ago, it has grown exponentially, garnered national attention and praise and provided a vehicle for us to show off one of our gifts — our literary tradition. I’ve had the honor of participating most of the years both as an author and a moderator. It’s so good to be part of such a joyous celebration of Mississippi — one that is quickly turning into one of our Crown Jewels.

Here are a few moments from yesterday.

So I’m sitting in the Author’s Lounge eating a sweet roll, talking with Jesse Holland,Ralph Eubanks Richard Ford, Curtis Wilkie, Bill Dunlap, Beth Ann Fennelly and Margaret McMullan. The Author’s Lounge is like a big family reunion. Seeing the line stretching down the street for people wanting to see Sonia Sotomayor or Dev Pilkey (never thought I’d be using those two names in a sentence together). It’s sitting down in the Governor’s office interviewing Candice (Sex in the City) Bushnell — can’t say I ever thought THAT would happen. It’s seeing the line out of Lemuria Books’ tent and knowing they are having a standout day. It’s seeing parents carrying books they just bought for their kids. It’s seeing AmeriCorps kids help people find their way around the Capitol. It’s see people taking a guided tour of THEIR Capitol building. It’s having so many people come up to me and say how much they enjoy what I get to do for a living. It’s seeing people celebrate books and the people who write them.

You get my point.

I want to thank a few people. Thank you Holly Lange, Ellen Rogers and every wonderful volunteer and organizer who worked so hard to put together a great day — The event was world class and that’s a reflection on you. I want to thank my panel’s authors — Josh Foreman (Hidden History of the Mississippi Sound),Luke Lampton ( Images in Mississippi Medicine),Janice Branch Tracy (Mississippi Moonshine Politics)Kate Stewart (Parchman Farm: Mississippi’s State Penitentiary in the 1930s) — you were fabulous and kept our audience entertained. Thanks to Shirley Mixon and the team from MPB who helped me stumble and bumble through my interviews this week. Thanks for my coworkers at Mississippi Today who worked really hard representing yesterday. And I want to thank Mother Nature for keeping the temperature below 100.

When I got home, I hopped in a UHaul truck and moved my son to college. I got home last night after midnight and I’m up this morning briefly before heading back to sleep.
But I am sitting here with a smile on my face. The place I love had a very, very good day yesterday.

The place I love had a very, very good day yesterday.