"I've been asked all over America . . . why Mississippi is so
distinctive. You know, we have our failings, but we're coming along all
right. But as to why Mississippi is so artistic and athletic I always
say there is something in the quality of two things: memory . . . and
the sour-mash bourbon." During the three decades since the London Sunday
Times trumpeted North Toward Home as "the finest evocation of an
American boyhood since Mark Twain," southerner Willie Morris (1934-1999)
wrote seventeen other books, including a second well-received volume of
autobiography. Throughout his lengthy literary career, which began when
he contributed his first sports column to a local newspaper at the age
of twelve, he attained national prominence as a journalist, nonfiction
writer, novelist, editor, and essayist. In Conversations with Willie
Morris, the first collection of interviews and profiles devoted to this
American author, Jack Bales compiles twenty-five fascinating and
incisive conversations (some never before published) with a man who for
over forty years confronted the turbulent issues of his generation. "I
have no alternative to words," Morris occasionally replied when asked
about his far-reaching career. And throughout his life he unceasingly
spoke out on matters that concerned him, writing at various times with
outrage, humor, sadness, and affection -- but always with passion and
candor. The diverse topics covered in this collection reflect the scope
of Morris's wide-ranging interests. As he speaks with journalists,
public radio and television hosts, social historians, and even a
professional comedian, he candidly discusses his own life and literary
career, sports, other authors, the 1960s, politics, the Civil War, dogs,
the complexities of race relations, and, of course, the South and his
beloved Mississippi. After reviewing the author's Homecomings some ten
years ago, a Boston Globe writer concluded, "There's damn fine life left
in this man's prose." As is evident by Willie Morris's eighteen books,
countless essays, and the insightful profiles and interviews gathered
here, there is little doubt that this man's prose will be remembered as
fresh, lively, and thought-provoking. Jack Bales, the author of Kenneth
Roberts, Esther Forbes: A Bio-Bibliography of the Author of Johnny
Tremain, and other books, has written extensively on Willie Morris. He
is the reference and humanities librarian at Mary Washington College in
Fredericksburg, VA.
