Writer Ellen Morris Prewitt Blog

How to Garden with Distinction

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on September 11, 2017. Posted in General, LOVE. 4 Comments on How to Garden with Distinction

My sister lives in a neighborhood with a replica of Mount Vernon. The houses are big and solid. On one lot, a developer razed a house and put up two modern “high-end” houses. They look cheap as hell. I bet the other houses hate the interlopers. Some of the houses have brass plaques sponsored by the Raleigh Historic Association. Strategic...

I Would Have Been A Confederate Soldier

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on August 17, 2017. Posted in Featured, General, Racism to Reconciliation. 16 Comments on I Would Have Been A Confederate Soldier

If I had lived during the 1860s, I probably would’ve done exactly what my mother’s grandfather did. Cursing, I would’ve picked up a gun and left my Mississippi family to protect my homeland. I would’ve fully understood I was fighting for a cause I did not support—preserving the right to own people. But the irresistible...

Godzilla Vs. The Code

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on July 26, 2017. Posted in Stories & Essays. 2 Comments on Godzilla Vs. The Code

(“Godzilla vs. The Code” first appeared in Barrelhouse) My husband has a favorite Japanese actor, and he can pronounce the man’s name. To-shi-ro Mi-fu-ne. At our house, Mr. Mifune appears in Samurai movies, mostly on Saturday afternoons. I’ll walk into the TV room and there’s my husband on the couch, reading subtitles. The men on TV are dressed in...

Mother Mary Commutes to Memphis

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on July 26, 2017. Posted in Stories & Essays. No Comments on Mother Mary Commutes to Memphis

(“Mother Mary Commutes to Memphis” first appeared in The Pinch) “Elvis Presley Enterprises shall exclusively own all now known or hereafter existing rights to the submissions of every kind throughout the universe.” EPE Legal Notice White robes squashed against blue-swirled upholstery, wads of chewing gum lined on a fuzzy armrest. The salty smell...

Model for Deception (an excerpt)

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on July 26, 2017. Posted in Stories & Essays. No Comments on Model for Deception (an excerpt)

(excerpt from Model for Deception, a Vangie Street mystery, currently being shopped to agents) The Next Step kitchen was abuzz with activity: one man was washing dishes, another removing clothes from the dryer, someone else peeling a cucumber. I walked through the room at a clip, not only because of the slightly unpleasant smell of leftover spaghetti....

The Dress

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on July 26, 2017. Posted in Stories & Essays. No Comments on The Dress

(“ The Dress” first appeared in Skirt Magazine)) In the Beginning was the dress. And the dress came up from New Orleans and lived in a closet in Memphis and waited for a party. One day, the husband said, “We have a party.” And the dress came out: the velvet-flocked, spaghetti-strapped, leopard-printed, spandex-induced dress. And the dress slipped...

The Old Timers

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on July 26, 2017. Posted in Stories & Essays. 2 Comments on The Old Timers

(“The Old Timers” first appeared in River Teeth) On August 7, 2001, I stepped into the 50th Anniversary celebration of the discovery of oil in Williston Basin, Williston, North Dakota. I knew no one. My family had not been back to the Williston Basin since the December night in 1960 when my father had run his car into a train—as squarely-hit as any...

Held at Gunpoint

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on July 26, 2017. Posted in Stories & Essays. 2 Comments on Held at Gunpoint

(“Held at Gunpoint” first appeared in Image; the story received a Special Mention from Pushcart Prize) A new couple—a white couple—came to the funeral service, but Preacher Butler went ahead and told it anyway. “Morgan Cook served sixty-five years in this white folks’ pigpen and now he’s gone to the resting place.” Everyone nodded—they hadn’t seen...

I Live in a Post-Katrina World

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 15, 2017. Posted in General, GRIEF. 2 Comments on I Live in a Post-Katrina World

When I was a child, one of my favorite places at my grandparent’s farm was the hill above the big lake. There, a square of concrete hid beneath the pasture grass. In the springtime, yellow and white daffodils pushed through the grass and bloomed in swaying clumps. Someone had planted the flowers; they spilled down the hill. We children...

Memories in My Yard

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 10, 2017. Posted in General, LOVE. 8 Comments on Memories in My Yard

Since I quit practicing law, I’ve done two tasks first thing in the mornings: clean up the kitchen and check on my plants outside. The latter was on hiatus for several years. My hips went to crap, and I quit working in the yard. Since the hips have been recovered, I haven’t had a yard to work in. I do now.