General Archives - Ellen Morris Prewitt

The Obsession

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 29, 2026. Posted in Featured, General. 4 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...

My P***s Story

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 27, 2026. Posted in Featured, General. 14 Comments on My P***s Story

So I was reading a very serious poem from Skye Jackson’s amazing book of poetry Libre, and I was the facilitator for the morning so it was serious business, but I came across a reference in the poem that is part of my life because I live off of Magazine Street and, most days, I pass by Peniston Street, and every time I pass—every time—I...

The Writing Table

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 24, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 6 Comments on The Writing Table

It didn’t start out well. I was participating in the Makers Space at the Hancock County arts festival, a tent where artists demonstrated their crafts. I was already pushing a rock uphill, competing for attention with potters and wood turners and face painters. My writing offering was unfinished sentences on index cards. “My teacher...

The Book

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 20, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women. 13 Comments on The Book

Mile markers exist in the book publishing business. Marketing manuals contain these lists so authors won’t miss them. You’ll also see them in the wild. I’ve sold my book! My cover reveal! The books have arrived–watch me open the box! There’s a reason for these milestones. They make chronological and narrative...

Writing a New Orleans Story

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 14, 2026. Posted in General. 2 Comments on Writing a New Orleans Story

When people ask, “Where are you from?” I answer, “Mississippi.” After all, my pregnant mother traveled from Denver to Jackson to give birth to me ’cause she wanted me to be from Mississippi. I have now lived in New Orleans for 14 years; nine years part-time, six years as a resident. Even so, I will never feel...

The Typewriter

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on March 10, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 4 Comments on The Typewriter

My mechanical skill level is so low, I consider opening an ironing board a mechanical act. But this typewriter is important to me. My Uncle Hebron gave it so me. In fact, he told me he was leaving it to me and then he did. It’s his 1940s Royal typewriter. Every note I’ve ever gotten from Hebron during my entire life was typed on...

There are NO DRAGONS in This Book

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 21, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 6 Comments on There are NO DRAGONS in This Book

For story time at our house, the six-year-old grandson gets to pick out the books. He has a limit of three books per night. We have two shelves of books, but he has a cache of favorites he returns to time and again. I consider this an “in the wild customer satisfaction” survey. A consistent winner in this survey is There Are NO...

Vonnegut

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 18, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, When We Were Murderous Time-Traveling Women, Writing. 8 Comments on Vonnegut

When I was in high school, I favored a small library located in a strip center. The library shelves began as soon as you walked in the door. From my weird spatial perspective, the library arranged the books backwards—the cataloguing began at the front desk, placing the fiction authors whose names were at the end of the alphabet closest to the...

Write into the Marrow

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on February 15, 2026. Posted in Featured, General, Writing. 4 Comments on Write into the Marrow

I want you to know: if you want to write your memoir, you can do it. Write it anyway you want. Tell the parts of your story that you can’t let go of and leave the rest out. Do it your way, the way that satisfies your soul. Please don’t worry about “memoir-writing” advice. Except this: write into the bone then crack...

A Bomb Going Off

Written by Ellen Morris Prewitt on January 19, 2026. Posted in Featured, General. 6 Comments on A Bomb Going Off

For many years, I thought I remembered a bomb going off. I was a child, no more than ten years old. My mother, my two sisters, and I were living in our redbrick duplex in the Belhaven neighborhood of Jackson. My cousins lived in the same neighborhood. All my friends lived in the neighborhood, and we spent forever wandering its streets,...