Mississippi Arts Hour

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.