Willie Morris

William Weaks Morris was a writer defined in large measure by his Southern roots. A seventh generation Mississippian, he grew up in Yazoo City frequently reminded of his heritage. Spending his college years at the University of Texas and at Oxford University in England gave Morris a taste of the world and, at the very least, something to write home about.
This volume is a comprehensive reference work dealing with Willie Morris’ life and works. It is also a literary biography based on hundreds of primary sources such as letters, newspaper articles and interviews. The principal focus is on Morris’ literary legacy, which includes works such as North Toward Home, New York Days and My Dog Skip.

Jack Bales is the Reference and Humanities Librarian at the University of Mary Washington Library in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The author of numerous books and articles, he lives in Fredericksburg.

Jack Bales
Foreword by Rick Bragg
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 403
Bibliographic Info: 57 photos, chronology, notes, index
Copyright Date: 2010 [2006]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4574-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1231-7
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword by Rick Bragg      1
Preface      3
Chronology      9

PART I
NORTH TOWARD HOME TO MISSISSIPPI: THE LIFE AND WORKS OF WILLIE MORRIS
Early Years (1934–1952)      13
College Days and Controversy (1952–1956)      26
An American Abroad (1956–1960)      32
Crusading Journalist (1960–1971)      39
Adrift on Long Island (1971–1979)      45
South Toward Home (1979–1999)      49
Epilogue      62
Notes      68

PART II
PUBLISHED WRITINGS BY WILLIE MORRIS
Contents      77
Books      79
The South Today: 100 Years After Appomattox      79
North Toward Home      79
Yazoo: Integration in a Deep-Southern Town      79
Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood      80
The Last of the Southern Girls      80
A Southern Album: Recollections of Some People and Places and Times Gone By      80
James Jones: A Friendship      81
Terrains of the Heart and Other Essays on Home      81
The Courting of Marcus Dupree      83
Always Stand In Against the Curve and Other Sports Stories      84
Good Old Boy and the Witch of Yazoo      85
Homecomings      85
Faulkner’s Mississippi      86
My Two Oxfords      86
After All, It’s Only a Game      86
New York Days      87
My Dog Skip      87
A Prayer for the Opening of the Little League Season      87
The Ghosts of Medgar Evers: A Tale of Race, Murder, Mississippi, and Hollywood      88
My Cat Spit McGee      88
My Mississippi      88
Taps: A Novel      88
Shifting Interludes: Selected Essays      89
Articles in the Daily Texan      91
Articles in the Texas Observer      136
Magazine and Journal Articles      162
Newspaper Articles      175
Contributions to Books      182
Introductions and Forewords      189
Book Reviews      193
Letters to the Editor      195

PART III
PUBLISHED WRITINGS ABOUT WILLIE MORRIS
Contents      197
Book Reviews      199
The South Today: 100 Years After Appomattox      199
North Toward Home      199
Yazoo: Integration in a Deep-Southern Town      205
Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood      208
The Last of the Southern Girls      210
A Southern Album: Recollections of Some People and Places and Times Gone By      213
James Jones: A Friendship      214
Terrains of the Heart and Other Essays on Home      218
The Courting of Marcus Dupree      219
Always Stand in Against the Curve and Other Sports Stories      225
Good Old Boy and the Witch of Yazoo      226
Homecomings      226
Faulkner’s Mississippi      228
After All, It’s Only a Game      229
New York Days      230
My Dog Skip      237
A Prayer for the Opening of the Little League Season      239
The Ghosts of Medgar Evers: A Tale of Race, Murder, Mississippi, and Hollywood      240
My Cat Spit McGee      245
My Mississippi      246
Taps: A Novel      248
Shifting Interludes: Selected Essays      253
Biographical and Critical Entries from Reference Works      254
Magazine and Journal Articles      257
Newspaper Articles      271
Books and Sections of Books      331
Theses and Dissertation      349
Selected Web Pages      350
Obituaries and Memorial Tributes      351

PART IV
A SENSE OF HISTORY: TRACING THE CIVILWAR WITHWILLIE MORRIS      365

Index      373

“exhaustive research…comprehensive”—Mississippi Magazine; “valuable”—Fredericksburg.com; “excellent”—Clarion Ledger; “useful and a joy to peruse…a must…fascinating”—Arkansas Review; “exhaustive research…comprehensive”—Delta Magazine; “the product of exhaustive research…comprehensive references”—The Southern Quarterly; “exemplary…a meticulous scholar…scrupulous documentation”—The American Oxonian.