Happy Friday y’all and cheers to the weekend!
Today we wanted to feature an author and poet whose mission inspires us so much because it goes hand in hand with our own. Patricia Dorsey is an accomplished poet and Tupelo, Mississippi native whose one goal is to portray a positive image of our great state to Mississippians and the rest of the world. Through her poetry, Patricia is able to impart the love she has for Mississippi to all of her readers. Her poem, “My Mississippi” is being made into a children’s book. Keep reading for more on Patricia and her story!
Today we wanted to feature an author and poet whose mission inspires us so much because it goes hand in hand with our own. Patricia Dorsey is an accomplished poet and Tupelo, Mississippi native whose one goal is to portray a positive image of our great state to Mississippians and the rest of the world. Through her poetry, Patricia is able to impart the love she has for Mississippi to all of her readers. Her poem, “My Mississippi” is being made into a children’s book. Keep reading for more on Patricia and her story!
{Tell us a little bit about you and your work!}
I am a 1982 graduate of Tupelo High School . I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. After living in Memphis, Tennessee for almost 20 years, working in the mental health field, I moved back to my hometown in August 2007.I wrote my very first poem February 14, 2007.
I just woke up out of my sleep with a poem swirling around in my head. I jumped up and scribbled it down.After that, the poems just started to flow and flow. My first book of poetry, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia- A Life In Poems was published in February 2008. My second book of poetry, My Magnolia Memories and Musings- In Poems was published in February 2012. My third book "Mississippi In Me" was published in January 2017.
I currently live in Tupelo with my husband James. We have one son,James Henry who is a student at Itawamba Community College in Fulton. I call my books a "celebration of the south and things southern.” Through my poems, I want to give a more positive view of Mississippi and the South, rather than all of the negatives usually portrayed .
One of my poems "Country Living " is included in a German high school textbook , currently being used in teaching English as a Foreign Language . In 2015 ,I was honored to receive a proclamation from Governor Phil Bryant declaring me as an Official Goodwill Ambassador for the state. The same year, a resolution was passed by the House of Representatives commending my work in promoting positive images of Mississippi through my poems.
I call my work "Poetic Storytelling" I believe that we can bridge many gaps of misunderstanding across regional, racial, social cultural, generational and economic lines by simply telling and sharing our stories. Several of my Mississippi poems are currently included on t-shirts in the Southern Belle T-shirt Company line in my continuing efforts to Promote a Positive Mississippi .
My slogan is "Always, Always Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi "
I am a 1982 graduate of Tupelo High School . I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. After living in Memphis, Tennessee for almost 20 years, working in the mental health field, I moved back to my hometown in August 2007.I wrote my very first poem February 14, 2007.
I just woke up out of my sleep with a poem swirling around in my head. I jumped up and scribbled it down.After that, the poems just started to flow and flow. My first book of poetry, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia- A Life In Poems was published in February 2008. My second book of poetry, My Magnolia Memories and Musings- In Poems was published in February 2012. My third book "Mississippi In Me" was published in January 2017.
I currently live in Tupelo with my husband James. We have one son,James Henry who is a student at Itawamba Community College in Fulton. I call my books a "celebration of the south and things southern.” Through my poems, I want to give a more positive view of Mississippi and the South, rather than all of the negatives usually portrayed .
One of my poems "Country Living " is included in a German high school textbook , currently being used in teaching English as a Foreign Language . In 2015 ,I was honored to receive a proclamation from Governor Phil Bryant declaring me as an Official Goodwill Ambassador for the state. The same year, a resolution was passed by the House of Representatives commending my work in promoting positive images of Mississippi through my poems.
I call my work "Poetic Storytelling" I believe that we can bridge many gaps of misunderstanding across regional, racial, social cultural, generational and economic lines by simply telling and sharing our stories. Several of my Mississippi poems are currently included on t-shirts in the Southern Belle T-shirt Company line in my continuing efforts to Promote a Positive Mississippi .
My slogan is "Always, Always Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi "
{Where did the idea for your book come from?}
I wanted a way to really reach the youth of our state with the poem.I knew that pictures with the poem would truly capture their attention. The Meet My Mississippi children's book is an excellent educational tool and fun literary tour guide filled with interesting facts about Mississippi and over 40 amazing illustrations! It is a wonderful way to share love and knowledge of Mississippi across generations. The book showcases some of the best that Mississippi has to offer in a kid-friendly format. It's perfect for kids from 8 to 80!
{What is the ultimate goal in regards to the future of your work?}
Bills were submitted in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 legislative sessions for consideration of “Meet My Mississippi” as the state poem. But the bills did not make it out of committee .We are hoping that things will be different in 2019. In the meantime, we are trying to get the book and poem into every Mississippi home, school, library and museum!
We hope that wide exposure and use of the poem will increase the chances of getting the poem passed as the state poem in the next legislative session.
I want to EDUCATE the world that there is more to Mississippi than all of the negatives usually portrayed.
I want to EMPOWER our children with knowledge that will help to instill a sense of pride in our state
I want to EQUIP our children with knowledge that will help to combat all of the negative images that they are constantly bombarded with
I want to ENLIGHTEN all to a new way of thinking about Mississippi
I want to use my poem "Meet My Mississippi " to help to teach the children of our state ( and people of all ages ) some important things about Mississippi in a way that can be easily understood , remembered and recalled.
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{What is your biggest inspiration?}
My love of God and family, My love of this beautiful state that I call home.
{Where does your passion for Mississippi come from?}
She is a huge part of who I am. She has made me who I am and I love that .
I really don't know any other way to explain it. I so often answer interview questions with a poem . I will do so now.
My poems explain my passion for this state and explain me best.
MISSISSIPPI
In the heart of Dixie,
Perfumed by
The sweet, fragrant smell of magnolias
and serenaded with
The melodious songs of the mockingbird,
Lies a true Queen of the South.
Her name is Mississippi .
I don’t know how to explain this place,
Except to say that she “speaks” to me.
The rocks, the flowers, the birds and trees
Speak to me.
They sometimes whisper,
And sometimes they shout;
But always they say,
“This is where you belong.”
2012 Patricia Neely-Dorsey
My love of God and family, My love of this beautiful state that I call home.
{Where does your passion for Mississippi come from?}
She is a huge part of who I am. She has made me who I am and I love that .
I really don't know any other way to explain it. I so often answer interview questions with a poem . I will do so now.
My poems explain my passion for this state and explain me best.
MISSISSIPPI
In the heart of Dixie,
Perfumed by
The sweet, fragrant smell of magnolias
and serenaded with
The melodious songs of the mockingbird,
Lies a true Queen of the South.
Her name is Mississippi .
I don’t know how to explain this place,
Except to say that she “speaks” to me.
The rocks, the flowers, the birds and trees
Speak to me.
They sometimes whisper,
And sometimes they shout;
But always they say,
“This is where you belong.”
2012 Patricia Neely-Dorsey
{What would you say is the most inspirational thing about Mississippi?}
My Mississippi
Is always home to me
She's warm, charming and alluring
She's the queen of hospitality;
I've loved her from my earliest days
She's in my fondest memories
She's in my heart, in my soul and such a part of me;
I love to share her beauty,
People often misunderstand ;
Pleasures abundantly abound,
In my dear magnolia land.
Patricia Neely-Dorsey
My Mississippi
Is always home to me
She's warm, charming and alluring
She's the queen of hospitality;
I've loved her from my earliest days
She's in my fondest memories
She's in my heart, in my soul and such a part of me;
I love to share her beauty,
People often misunderstand ;
Pleasures abundantly abound,
In my dear magnolia land.
Patricia Neely-Dorsey
{What is the biggest thing you wish fellow Mississippians knew about our state?}
There is so much more to Mississippi than all of the negatives usually portrayed.
For more information on Patricia Neely-Dorsey please visit her website. If you enjoy her work,please purchase a copy of Meet My Mississippi for someone you love!
Photographs courtesy of Patricia Neely-Dorsey
There is so much more to Mississippi than all of the negatives usually portrayed.
For more information on Patricia Neely-Dorsey please visit her website. If you enjoy her work,please purchase a copy of Meet My Mississippi for someone you love!
Photographs courtesy of Patricia Neely-Dorsey
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