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

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.  

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.  

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.  

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.  

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

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.  

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.