My Mississippi Literary Tour - Willie Morris

Mississippi is FAMOUS for its writers, musicians, artists, etc.  God has blessed our state with many talented people, and I thought I should get to know as much as them all as I could. After all, Mississippi is my state.


I'll write these up as separate blogs so it will be easier to read about specific Mississippians.  They will not be in any kind of order because I wouldn't presume to think I know enough to say who was most popular, most talented, the biggest world-changer....

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1 Mississippian

Willie Morris (William Weaks Morris) was born in Jackson, MS in 1934 and moved with his family to Yazoo City, MS when he was six. 

As a teacher of intellectually gifted 4th graders and since the 4th grade regular education curriculum for social studies is the study of Mississippi, I tried to find something to incorporate into my curriculum about Mississippi.  The book, My Dog Skip, by Willie Morris was perfect.  It is a story about a young boy growing up in Mississippi, and it was written by that same Mississippi boy.

Yazoo City, MS is the famed hometown of Willie Morris.  During Spring Break, we took a day trip to Yazoo City and saw as much as we could during that time.

His home:

Willie Morris's childhood home - in 2012

His stories tell of all the fun times his friends, Skip and he had in his yard.  What was a small-town street in front is now a 4-lane highway through "town" so I had to use my imagination to see what he would have had as a child.  It's easy to picture boys and dogs playing football and having chinaberry fights here.


His school: 

 
  








Willie was a great student, and he was an athlete.  He was editor of his high school newspaper, and he was voted Wittiest, Most Likely to Succeed and Most Versatile.  He played football, baseball and basketball.

The former Dixie Theater:

What was once the Dixie Theater...

An electrical event planned for a shark movie went wrong.

After the fire, it was turned into an outdoor amphitheater.

Main Street:

A little bit more colorful than in Willie's day, but the same streets he walked with friends.

Broadway Street:

It may not seem that steep, but it IS a hill and a long one.  Willie tells stories of autos with brakes that go out, the speed those autos get and how they stop. LOL  Driving the streets of Yazoo City myself, I could see how losing brakes on a car or truck could be nerve-wracking.  The hills of the city were high and soft.  The roads were curving, steep and broken up. 

Glenwood Cemetery:

The Witch's Grave

The legend goes that a witch lived in a cabin on the Yazoo River.  One day men reported seeing her dancing around wildly in her cabin with bodies on the floor, and as lawmen were chasing after her she became trapped in quicksand.  Just before she went under, she vowed to return and burn down the city.  Ten years later, in 1904, the chain surrounding the witch's grave was broken in two, and Yazoo City was almost completely destroyed by fire.
 BTW, it was really caused by a little boy playing with matches under the porch of his family's home.  Not as interesting a story, is it...

Willie Morris's Grave

 Willie selected the place he would be buried upon his death......exactly 13 steps from the witch's grave.....at his request.  Would make for a good addition to his stories, huh?  Sounds like he was always thinking like a story-teller and a writer.

Forefront - Witch; Background - Willie

 The witch's grave is at the bottom of the photo (with the flowers - Since no one knows who she was, we wondered who was bringing her flowers....If she was a sad, lonely lady then I'm glad someone is remembering her in a nice way.) and Willie's is the tall, darker monument behind the rectangular section.  13 steps away.....just as he requested.  Hmmmm......

Side note:  Some of Francis Scott Key's grandchildren are buried in this cemetery.  Wonder how they got to Mississippi? 

Willie died at a pretty young age - 64.  During his life, though, he lived.  He enjoyed life in Yazoo City, as you can read in several of his books, he went to college in Texas and at Oxford University in England, he lived in NYC and was the editor of Harper's Magazine. 

Yazoo City was an interesting stop on the MS Literary Tour.  The city has changed a lot since Willie experienced the life he wrote about, but you can feel the history there.  It is near Jackson and Vicksburg, MS and would be worth the trip.