General Archives - Ellen Morris Prewitt

This and That

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 2, 2026. Posted in Featured, General. 2 Comments on This and That

I was talking about this and that to the woman who’s been helping me with publicity for the book, and I told her how much fun I was having with this rollout. On a deeper level, I told her, I’ve realized that I have friends. I have loving family. People who support me. I even have unknown readers who are showing up at the book...

It’s Official!

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on June 1, 2026. Posted in General, Racism to Reconciliation. 13 Comments on It’s Official!

It’s official! The Mississippi Press Association will induct Ida B. Wells into its Hall of Fame. Mrs. Wells is by many accounts the greatest journalist Mississippi has ever produced. Born in Holly Springs, she moved to Memphis to teach school. In 1892, when a white mob lynched Mrs. Wells’ friend and successful grocery man Thomas...

The White Egret

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 19, 2026. Posted in Featured, General. 9 Comments on The White Egret

The white egret slowly steps the brushy perimeter of the island’s desolate wash. I clomp down the boardwalk, my dorky water shoes slapping the planks. The egret, who had been grazing, lifts her head. I halt, listening to what she has to say: “Why this barren mud in the center of a lush Island?” she asks. “All around...

Infestation

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 13, 2026. Posted in Featured, General. 14 Comments on Infestation

I am about to cry uncle. We have had a black fly infestation on our back porch. Rotted wood on our steps. Something wafty growing in our hot tub. Something dead under the porch (see above reference to flies). Trim pulling away from the house. Fire ants mounding in the rain-soaked yard. Water dripping from our HVAC register. Termites swarming...

Lies of History

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 8, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Racism to Reconciliation. 18 Comments on Lies of History

Rarely do I write a book review mid-book. But W. E.B. Du Bois’s Black Reconstruction in America: 1860-1880, has so fascinated me, I need to share. Of course, lies of history are gonna rivet me. Besides, the book is over 700 pages, so I might actually need three posts to cover it. Here’s a primary premise of the book: Americans of...

Ellenpalooza!!!

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on May 5, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women. 6 Comments on Ellenpalooza!!!

Life in the South

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on April 23, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, LOVE. 6 Comments on Life in the South

I thought my second piercing had become infected, or at the least irritated. Turns out, a mosquito bit me on the ear lobe. Such is life in the South. Caterpillars are cute little things, right? Not in New Orleans. They’re swarming, stinging, five-alarm dangers. Soon enough, they turn into buck moths, which can do great damage to the...

Dead Body Removal

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on April 7, 2026. Posted in Featured, General. 4 Comments on Dead Body Removal

Can we go from the sacred business of writing to the profane business of living? The past two days, the folks at my house have been taken up with dead body removal. Yep, it is exactly what it sounds like. We’ve had my sister visiting us for the week around the launch. During her stay, we introduced her to the phenomenon of British...

The Magic of the Book Launch

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on April 6, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women. 10 Comments on The Magic of the Book Launch

It wasn’t an accident, the magic of the book launch. I thought long and hard about what would feel like a success to me. After I did a guest reading at a coffeehouse in December in Ocean Springs, I knew I wanted it at a coffeehouse. Also, I wanted other authors joining me—at that reading, we had about eight writers reading. The...

The Obsession

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 29, 2026. Posted in Featured, General. 6 Comments on The Obsession

Obsession is probably not the primary take-away the author of Reconstruction in Mississippi, 1862-1877, intended. But I read a statistic in Jere Nash’s book that shocked me, and pointed toward the price of obsession. The Slide from Slavery Wealth In 1860, Mississippi was per capita the wealthiest state in America. The economy was...