Patricia Neely-Dorsey's
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia
"A CELEBRATION OF THE SOUTH AND THINGS SOUTHERN"
Welcome!
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia- A Life in Poems
My book Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia is a true celebration of the south and things southern. Using childhood memories, personal thoughts and dreams, I attempt to give a positive glimpse into the southern way of life. There are so many negative connotations associated with Mississippi and the south in general. I want to show a flip side of the coin.There is much to love about this much maligned and misunderstood part of our country. I would really love for you to get to KNOW Mississippi (and the south) in a different light and I want to introduce you. I invite you to Meet Mississippi Through Poetry, Prose and the written word.
Thank you for stopping by my site and showing an interest in my "little book of southern poems"
ISBN: 978-0-9796294-2-6
Paperback: $15
GrantHouse Publishers
Book available! www.reeds.ms/books.asp or
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia
Celebrating History, Heritage, Culture and Community
Patricia Neely-Dorsey's fascinating book of poetry takes me back to my childhood years, when times were simpler and lasting memories were shaped. To anyone raised in the rural South, this is a work of art that connects with an inner being that longs to remember its past.
Ronnie Agnew
Executive Editor-The Clarion Ledger
Jackson, MS
"The South--Where roots, place, family and tradition are the essence of identity."
Social Historian, Carl N. Degler
Eudora Welthy said:
"Write about what you know"
and
"I believe in it, and I trust in it too and treasure it above everything, the personal, the personal, the personal! I put my faith in it not only as the source, the ground of meaning in art, in life, but as the meaning itself"
In the preface of her book of poetry , This is My Century, Margaret Walker wrote, "If I could write my epitaph it would read: Here lies Margaret Walker Poet and Dreamer...She tried to make her life a poem."
She goes on the write, "The South is my home, and my adjustment or accommodation to the South-whether real or imagined (mystic and legendary), violent or nonviolent- is the subject and source of all my poetry. It is my life."
These are my sentiments exactly.... I could not have said it any better myself. I write about the personal. I write about what I know. I write about the south. The South IS my home. It IS my life. I invite you to share my southern life.... in poems.
One author/editor of the 19th century once said: "I don't read, I have an intimate conversation with the writer."
That is what I hope to achieve with my book...an intimate conversation with the reader about the south... giving an upclose and personal view of the southern way of life.
Using poetic storytelling, I hope to, not only, entertain , but also, educate and enlighten, while helping to preserve the beautiful, rich southern culture, history and heritage that I know, along with promoting and fostering an appreciation and understanding of the importance of cultural diversity, individuality, self expression and regional pride .
Storytelling is a special Mississippi folk art. To me, folk art is simply art made/performed by ordinary "folk" for ordinary "folk". Folk artists attempt to freeze their memories into their art and help to preserve the culture and customs of everyday life.
I think that I would best describe my poetry as "folk poetry"
I must admit an affinity for the familiar, the common, the everyday, the ordinary and the simple things of life. Reflections is essentially "shapshots' from my life in written form of people, places, events and lessons learned.
Some poems include: Southern Life, Southern Man, Mississippi Morning, The Magnolia Tree, Country Living, Country Breakfast, Shelling Peas, Slopping Hogs, Hogkilling Time,Making Crackings...
I believe in "living your best present through knowledge of your past."
William Faulkner said,"The past is not dead. It's not even past."
My book focuses on elements that are always central in the southern way of life...family, friends, community and sense of place. And, as with anything Southern, there's a lot of food thrown in there, too! (smile)
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems has been called ,among other things, a poetic love letter to the south and a poetic autobiography.
"A poet's autobiography is his poetry. Anything else is just a footnote."
--Yevgeny Yevtushenko
(1933- )
"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
"Most Southern writers are not writers at all, but story-tellers who just happen to tell the story in writing."
Someone once said: "There are so many good southern writers because they never have to make any thing up." (so true..so true!!)
"Quotables"
~~Eudora Welty~~
"Southerners love a good tale. They are born reciters, great memory retainers, diary keepers, letter exchangers . . . great talkers."
"All I can say is that there's a sweetness here, a Southern sweetness, that makes sweet music. . . . If I had to tell somebody who had never been to the South, who had never heard of soul music, what it was, I'd just have to tell him that it's music from the heart, from the pulse, from the innermost feeling. That's my soul; that's how I sing. And that's the South." -- Al Green
(That is EXACTLY how I feel about my writings/my poems. They come from the heart, from the very pulse of who I am, from my innermost feelings. They come from a sweetness that is all around....a sweetness that I have known all of my life.)
"To understand the world, one must first understand a place like Mississippi. " William Faulkner
Large MS Basket
from http://www.abasketkase.net/ $56
 | Indianola Pecan � Southern Comfort Pecans Wheelers Magnolia Crunchies Indianola Pecan Roll MS Cheese Straws � Three Cheese Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia by Patricia Neely-Dorsey $56 |
Display at Reed's Gumtree Bookstore-Tupelo,MS TOP SHELF!
"WELCOME TO TUPELO" basket
$47
from ABasket Kase
http://www.tupelo.net/
--------------------------------------------------------------------
In Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia: A Life in Poems, Patricia Neely-Dorsey has written, in poetic form, a kind of primer on southern life, manners, and customs.
Rick Torgerson-Delta State University
With Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia, Patricia Neely-Dorsey gives the world a book that is part biography, part rhymes, part imagination but all Mississippi!
Joey Pinkney-Joey Pinkney Reviews- Raleigh,NC
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia
You will enjoy every minute you read this breakout work.
You will recommend the book to friends.
You will read it over and over.
Years from now you will boast about purchasing and reading Patricia Neely-Dorsey’s first book.
Make sure you tell YOUR friends about this excellent book!
Ronald Weathersby
Los Angeles, CA
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia
Patricia Neely-Dorsey
I adore poet Patricia Neely-Dorsey's book _Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems_. She lives the good life! The poems are upbeat, bouncy at times, and make me proud to be a Mississippian. They are positive to the core, and perfect for church gatherings or local clubs to recite for inspiration. To live in Mississippi and not own this book is a shame!
Maggie Moran- Public Services and Reference Librarian- Northwest CC-Senatobia,MS
Book Talk for NW Mississippi located on my blog, Maggie Reads.
http://www.maggiereads.blogspot.com/
------------------------------------------------------------------
"I never knew how pork skins were made until your book!! Lol"
Tammy B
Kosciusko,MS
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Your poetry genuinely uplifts our state better than anything I have ever read."
Ralph Gordon- Meridian Mississippi- Vice President Mississippi Witers Guild
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Patrica, you should be very proud. This is one of the best books of historical poetry that I have read." Agnes Levine-Baltimore, Maryland- author/publisher
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Patricia has a great eye and an ear for the south and the images that make it unique.
I plan to use some of her quick rhymes when working with children in Mississippi schools."
Heather Truett- Tupelo,Mississippi
http://madamerubieswrites.blogspot/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
GLOWING REVIEW of Reflections in Mississippi Libraries publication
The online version is at:
http://www.misslib.org/index.php/2009/09/29/reflections-of-a-mississippi-magnolia-a-life-in-poems/
Take a look at this
Review of "Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia" by Patricia Neely-DorseyReview of "Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia," a book of Southern poems by Patricia Neely-Dorsey.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2031726/review_of_reflections_of_a_mississippi.html
