Poetry of Place

“The Southern writer is forced from all sides to make his gaze extend (Timber Press), W. Ralph Eubanks shares that O’Connor line, and then weaves interviews, images, and reflections to understand why the Magnolia State seems to have nurtured more prophets and poets than any other scrap of Southern soil. Beyond the usual odes to Faulkner and Welty, Eubanks examines how the people and pain of Mississippi’s past and present continue to help writers winnow their words. The modern literary titan Jesmyn Ward, for instance, pauses on a drive with Eubanks in a quiet grove of live oaks and says, “This place helps me keep a sense of urgency in my work.”