In this collection of short fiction, I draw upon the experience of growing up in a small southern town and my work as a researcher with the Center for Oral History to reach beyond the stereotypes and create a more accurate portrayal of life in Mississippi. There are two central themes touched on in these stories. The first I call “Occupational Obsolescence” and delves into the tensions created when a person’s (or community’s) livelihood is taken away for reasons beyond their control. The second, “The Outsider Within,” considers the question of how a person can be a resident of a small town for many years and still be considered an outsider.
Mississippi, fiction, Arts and Humanities, Creative Writing
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