“While I am continually striving to be a more effective editor every day, I have found that paying that knowledge forward and helping new writers learn the ropes of our chosen field is a greatly rewarding experience,” Deputy Editor Nate Schumann writes.
Dr. Terrence Z. Johnson shares several life lessons that he learned in 2022 as he reflectively springs into a new season of self-awareness and self-care in 2023. “Don’t overlook what is going on around you now. Although it may not seem like it, you are getting prepared for your greater future,” he writes.
A pioneering writer in a genre long dominated by white men, Octavia E. Butler’s work explored power structures, shifting definitions of humanity and alternative societies. In an interview, English language and literature professor Alyssa Collins explains how Butler’s boundless curiosity inspired the author’s work, and how Butler’s experiences as a Black woman drew her to “humans who must deal with the edges or ends of humanity.”
“It’s one of the most fabulous times of the year! MFP’s spring fundraising campaign launched this past weekend with the theme, ‘Solutions for Mississippi.’ I can’t stress this enough,” Kimberly Griffin writes. “No gift is too small. Also, no gift is too big, so don’t let that stop you. Please give what you can to kick off this critical campaign.”
Sam Cooke. W. C. Handy. Marty Stuart. Alice Walker. Ida B. Wells. These five superstars in their fields—musical performance and business, writing, journalism, Black activism—are the latest Mississippians inducted into the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience Hall of Fame. They join the ranks of Oprah Winfrey, James Earl Jones, Sela Ward and 25 other Mississippi artists The MAX, as it is commonly known, has honored.
If you’re already an MFP VIP Club member, you’ll know that our founding editor Donna Ladd launches a series of writing talks on Tuesday, Jan. 25. This talk series is an excellent opportunity to hear words of wisdom and inspiration from one of the best in the country. She won’t be reading or editing any of your work, but her talks about her own writing journey and what she’s learned along the way are always inspiring.
“The pen is mightier than the sword” is a metonymic adage created by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839. Advikaa Anand agrees, saying that written words are a more powerful tool for communication compared to violence, and our language should be cultivated for love and inspiration, not to perpetuate profanity.
After several years of reading the work of writers at Parchman—as well as helping to workshop writing—W. Ralph Eubanks has come to see prison writing as a unique body of literature that offers a commentary on the conditions that exist broadly in American society, specifically in Mississippi and the American South.
“I began twirling in my bathroom as I realized the fundamental truth that had evaded me years earlier: I was a swan, St. Andrew’s was my flock, Mississippi was my lake, and this would be only the beginning of my story.”
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
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Jackson, MS 39201
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The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).