Featured Interview With Patricia Neely-Dorsey
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
My name is Patricia Neely-Dorsey. I am a 1982 graduate of Tupelo High School in Tupelo, Mississippi… located in the beautiful red clay “Hills” of Mississippi..and yes, the birthplace of Elvis Presley. I received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. After living for almost 20 years in Memphis, Tennessee, working in the mental health field, I returned to my hometown in August 2007. My first book of poetry, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia- A Life In Poems was published in February, 2008 (Grant House Publishers). My second book , My Magnolia Memories and Musings -In Poems was published in February 2012.
I currently live in Tupelo with my husband James, son Henry,and Miniature Schnauzer, Happy.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother gave me a passionate love for reading and writing, and my father gave me an appreciation for poetry and great literature, especially that of African-American origin.
I am a bookworm ! I love books !
I never really planned on or thought about being a “writer”
I always hesitate to call myself a poet. I feel more like a vessel or conduit through which the poems flow. I never intentionally sat down to write any of them. They all came to be fully complete and neatly packaged, title and all. I just put them down on paper.
I wrote my very first poem in February 2007. I woke up on Valentine’s Day 2007 with the words of a poem forcefully dancing around in my head. I quickly got up and scribbled it down.
After that the poems just started to flow and flow .
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love to read all genres. I especially love reading the works of southern writers !
My love of the south, the southern way of life and my life in the south inspires all of my writing .
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 south. The South IS my home. It IS my life. I want readers to share my southern life…. in poems.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My books Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia: A Life in Poems and My Magnolia Memories and Musings – In Poems are 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 readers to get to KNOW Mississippi (and the south) in a different light and I want to introduce them. I invite readers to Meet Mississippi Through Poetry, Prose and the written word.
I hope to publish the third book in the “trilogy” of sorts) in 2015.
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