Books published by University Press of Mississippi

Wilbur C. Sweatman (1882-1961) is one of the most important, yet unheralded, African American musicians involved in the transition of ragtime into jazz in the early twentieth century. In That's Got'Em!, Mark Berresford tracks this energetic pioneer over a seven-decade career.

Brings together an exceptional array of interviews, profiles, and press conferences tracing the half century that Orson Welles (1915- 1985) was in the public eye. Originally published or broadcast between 1938 and 1989, these pieces confirm that Welles's career was multidimensional and thoroughly interwoven with Welles's persona.

Examines the complex negotiations behind the production of African American literature. John K. Young presents the first book-length application of editorial theory to African American literature. He expands upon the concept of socialized authorship and demonstrates how the study of publishing history and practice and African American literary criticism enrich each other.

Traces Ralph Ellison's intellectual and aesthetic development and the evolution of his cultural philosophy throughout his long career. The book explores Ellison's published fiction, his criticism and correspondence, and his passionate exchanges with - and impact on - other literary intellectuals during the Cold War 1950s and during the culture wars of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

In June 1867, the San Francisco Elevator began publishing articles by a Californian calling herself "Ann J. Trask" and later "Semper Fidelis". Her name was Jennie Carter (1830-1881). Recovering Carter's work from obscurity, this volume represents one of the most exciting bodies of extant work by an African American journalist before the twentieth century.

Offers historical and theoretical readings of Caribbean and African American interaction from the 1700s to the present. By analysing travel narratives, histories, creative collaborations, and political exchanges, Kevin Meehan traces the development of African American/Caribbean dialogue through works of Arthur Schomburg, Zora Neale Hurston, Jayne Cortez, and Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

For any herbist this is an indispensable handbook of fascinating lore, of tips on practical herb garden design, and of comprehensive guidance in cultivating and harvesting herbs. Non-native herbs grow best and look best in gardens that reproduce their native habitats. This view is the keystone of The Essence of Herbs.

In an era that glorified Southern womanhood, especially the women who contributed significantly to the Confederate cause, the subject of this fascinating book, until now, somehow has been largely forgotten. These are the papers that survived her, and they detail the life and deeds of Belle Edmondson (1840-1873), a heroine of the Confederacy.

Explores the interplay of contradictory but equally prevailing metaphors: first, the swamp as the underside of the myth of pastoral Eden that defined the antebellum South; and second, the swamp as the last pure vestige of undominated southern eco-culture.

For over half a century, Canadian-born John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908) has been among the most visible of public intellectuals. This collection of interviews documents the long career of an influential economist and political philosopher who has spent much of his professional life in the public eye. Throughout the collection, Galbraith's erudition, wit, and impassioned liberalism shine through.

From earliest childhood the nursery rhyme, one of the most captivating genres in our popular culture, has transmitted powerful messages to the child who hears it. This fascinating examination of the pervasive influence of nursery rhymes reveals patterns of psychological and cultural meaning in a broad range of rhymes, grouping them according to basic subject matter.

Examines the Detroit race riot of 1943. The authors draw on never-before-used police records and court files and combine them with equally original archival data to present several profiles of those who filled the streets of Detroit during the bloody upheaval.

On June 21 1964 three activists were abducted and murdered in Neshoba County near the town of Philadelphia. William Bradford Huie was sent to this seething community to cover the breaking story. This book is his documentary account written in the heat of the dangerous and dramatic moment.

Examines the flow of African American music and musicians across the Atlantic to Europe from the time of slavery to the twentieth century. In a sweeping examination of different musical forms - spirituals, blues, jazz, skiffle, and orchestral music - the contributors consider the reception and influence of black music on a number of different European audiences.

Presents a collection of essays devoted to the work of the award-winning fiction writer Barry Hannah. The anthology features a broad range of critical approaches and covers the span of Hannah's career from Geronimo Rex (1972) to Yonder Stands Your Orphan (2001). The book also includes a previously unpublished interview with Hannah.

Although many popular videos have been condemned for sexism, the medium has experienced a striking change. Both in repertoires and in performances the politics of feminism has moved to the front row. Ladies First takes a close look at this exciting phenomenon and shows how both on and off screen strong females have assumed larger roles in the industry.

This new edition of biographical sketches of notable blacks from Mississippi expands the edition published in 1977. A total of 166 figures are included, all of them persons who have, by the authors' comprehensive survey, "made significant contributions in bringing about the uplift of the black race."

What would the state of southern plate and palate be without this staple? What is his great appeal? What is his family tree? How do you hook him? And if so, how do you cook him? But first you have to clean him, so how do you do that?This light-hearted book of catfish facts and folklore gives ample answers to these monumentous questions and to others just as acute.

If you're a birdwatcher, this book will be a delight. If you can already identify the bird but wish to know where else to sight it, then this quick-reference book will be a friend and companion. Birds and Birding on the Mississippi Coast by Judith A. Toups and Jerome A. Jackson is the first book to focus attention on sighting the 357 species of birds known to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Frank Marshall Davis (1905-1987) was a central figure in the black press. Writings of Frank Marshall Davis presents a selection of Davis's non-fiction, providing an unprecedented insight into one journalist's ability to reset the terms of public conversation and frame the news to open up debate among African Americans and all Americans.

The play party was a popular form of American folk entertainment that included songs, dances, and sometimes games. This is the first book since the 1930s to study this important and little remembered phenomenon of American folk culture. A songbook of ninety musical examples and lyrics completes the picture of this vanished tradition.

Since 1842, when Governor Tilghman M. Tucker and his family occupied the mansion shortly after his inauguration on January 10, the Mississippi Governor's Mansion has served as the state's official executive residence. This volume provides a history of the mansion.

Focuses on how film technology, marketing, and distribution effectively create the aesthetics and reception of horror films. Previously unpublished, these essays cover several styles of horror film - including the silent German Expressionist masterpiece Nosferatu, the jittery mock-documentary The Blair Witch Project, and the gracefully shot The Exorcist.

Tells the story of a house, "Brierfield", and incidentally of a man, Jefferson Davis, and his family. The author traces the story of "Brierfield" from its construction in the antebellum period to its final disappearance in the twentieth century, a victim of war, floods, and fire.

Winnifred Eaton published most of her works under a Japanese-sounding name, Onoto Watanna, but she was of Chinese ancestry. In Meher narrator is called Nora Ascouth, but in the plot, as Nora journeys from her birthplace in Canada to the West Indies and to the United States, Eaton recounts her own early life and writing career.