MY LITTLE SOUTHERN POEMS KEEP MAKING THEIR ROUNDS

I am so proud to say that the audience for the poems from my books Reflections of s Mississippi Magnolia-A Life In Poems and My Magnolia Memories- In Poems keeps growing day by day ..
The poems seem to strike a familiar cord with so many people.

I am very passionate about Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi.
I love that the poems are being used by others to Celebrate the South, in their own way.

THIS SUMMER, I RECEIVED THIS E-MAIL:

Dear Patricia Neely-Dorsey,
A friend of mine found your site and referred me to it so I could read some of your poetry. Your poetry is surely the best I have ever read. As a retired teacher-librarian-media specialist, I have read a few. I moved to Mississippi in the middle of my senior year in high school but went on to college at the "W" and later to MS Southern, East Carolina, Purdue and Samford, for an advanced degrees. I am retired from the Pascagoula School System.
I am president of a Mobile Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The Alabama Division is having a state convention the middle of this September. We would like to reprint two of your lovely poems from the "Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia." We know it isn't a Mississippi organization but our theme for the formal dinner is magnolias and history of the south. We would like to copy the poems on Southern Life and the one on Magnolias on pastel paper, roll the paper with one poem on it, tie it with ribbon, and place it by the place setting as a gift to each participant of the convention. Your name would be placed underneath as author/poet with reference to your book. The poems are lovely and I think everyone would appreciate them. The centerpieces for each table will be silk magnolia blossoms.
Please consider this sincere request for the use of two of your poems.
With highest regards.

I wrote back that I would be glad to have the poems used at the event.
She was thrilled !

After the event in September , I received conformation that the poems had, indeed,been used.
She wrote :
We used your poems. The lady that was helping me, printed them out . Each one was on a separate and different pastel color paper. The tables for the formal dinner sat eight people at each one. A different poem was placed by each place setting. After the meal and the program, we had a number of ladies that waited around and went table by table to collect the different poems that they didn't get. That should give you an idea of well they were received. They liked them so much they wanted all that was available!
I have praised your work to all who will listen. Thank you again for your help.


SHE SENT ME A PICTURE OF ONE OF THE DECORATED TABLES
with the explanation:
My daughter-in-law did the magnolia arrangements for the centerpieces. She is from Biloxi, a career Air Force child. who used to do arrangements for the furniture stores in Biloxi. Her parents are buried right next to the road in the cemetery on Hwy 90 facing beach. Her father immigrated alone to U.S. from Germany when he was 17. He had escaped from a prison work camp. He was with U.S. Air Force in the Berlin Air Lift during WWII. 

Patricia Neely-Dorsey - (Unofficial) International Mississippi Ambassador

OMG!!! IT'S A SMALL, SMALL WORLD !

Recently, a Facebook friend posted  this comment on her wall :
"I've been reading 'My Magnolia Memories and Musings In Poems' written by Patricia Neely-Dorsey. What a lovely book of poetry that truly captures the beauty of The Deep South!"

This Facebook friend is from Mississippi but, now lives in TEXAS
One of her friends (from SPAIN) replied:
"Thanks for sharing, have been looking for Southern literature."
I suggested that my Facebook friend's friend check out my website for more information and to read a few poems.
She replied: to me saying:
"I visited your state two years ago, and found it to be the most welcoming and warm state! Many greetings from Spain! Xx"

AFTER VISITING THE WEBSITE, SHE WROTE:
I just read that you are from Tupelo, which is where we visited. I read your Magnolia Tree poem, and it brought back childhood memories of a Magnolia Tree in our garden. Sadly we had to leave it behind when we moved to Spain, and I have pined for it since.

A LITTLE LATER , SHE WROTE:
"The Southern Man poem is exactly why we love the South, and why it will be in our heart forever more. We feel southern in our hearts, even if we are a mixed breed Thank you for sharing your beautiful words with us."
"I'm half Serbian half Burmese, but was born in Germany "

SHE SENT A FRIEND REQUEST, I ACCEPTED.
She responded::
"Thanks for adding me! I just realized you’re a fellow BU alumni, I attended BU in '91!"

PND: OMG!!!!
I Now I have a new Facebook friend in Spain ..
who loves my poetry and the South ....especially Mississippi...
AND loves the ways of our southern men...
AND loves magnolias...
AND HAS VISITED TUPELO...
AND WENT TO BOSTON UNIVERSITY, My alma mater !!!
Did I say .."It's a small world " ???!!!
Yes, I think I did !!!! 

I am so proud of my two book babies, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia -A Life in Poems and My Magnolia Memories and Musings -In Poems.
Because of the many negatives so commonly associated with Mississippi and the South, I have taken on a personal campaign of "Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi." I want to show that there is absolutely MUCH to love about my state and region. I have used my poems to help convey my platform and they have been very well received from people all over the United States ..and now , I see , beyond our borders! I am very encouraged to continue what I am doing:

"Always' Always,Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi"
PND -INTERNATIONAL MISSISSIPPI AMBASSADOR Signing off!
Woo Hoo !!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELVIS !

Today, Elvis fans from all over the world will be celebrating the birthday of Elvis Presley .
Can you believe Elvis " THE KING " Presley was born in my hometown???!!!
Elvis Aaron Presly was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8,1935, to 18-year-old Vernon Elvis and 22-year-old Gladys Love Presley in the East Tupelo two-room "shotgun" house built by his father , uncle and grandfather. Jesse Garon Presley, his identical twin brother, was delivered 35 minutes before him, stillborn. As an only child, Elvis was very close to both parents and formed an unusually tight bond with his mother.  In November 1948, the family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.

Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953.
In 1954, Elvis began his singing career with the legendary Sun Records label in Memphis. By 1956, he was an international sensation
Known all over the world by his first name, Elvis is regarded as one of the most important figures of twentieth century popular culture

Scheduled Celebrations:
TUPELO-1 p.m. - Birthday cake at the Birthplace
2 p.m. - Tupelo Unity Choir premieres video at the Elvis Birthplace
2:15 - Tupelo Unity Choir performs at the Elvis Birthplace
5:30 - Lighting Ceremony at Elvis Statue in Fairpark District Tupelo celebrates Elvis' birthday with several events in town

MEMPHIS-Elvis fans from around the world will travel to Graceland in January to celebrate the king's birthday and the opening of a new exhibit in honor of the 40th anniversary of his landmark “Aloha From Hawaii” concert. Numerous events are scheduled, concluding with the Elvis Presley Day Ceremony, which includes a birthday cake cutting and proclamation by both Memphis and Shelby County officials. The new Graceland exhibit “Elvis’ Hawaii: Concerts, Movies and More!” celebrating the 40th will also be unveiled.

NEVER TOO OLD...

I received a message from a Facebook friend which said :

"I am 57, almost 58 years old and I have not lived up to my own expectations , let alone what I think the Lord wants and needs for me to be doing ."
I told her that I believe we all bloom in our own time and reminded her of the quote that I post all of the time: "You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream."

It's SO true !!!
Heck, I didn't write my first poem until I was 43 years old and published my first book at 44.
Out of the blue, I decided to compete in the Mrs. Mississippi Pageant at the age of 47, even though most of the other girls were in their 20's and early thirties On top of that , I had only been in one other pageant in my life ...the Miss Northside Pageant ..at the age of 16 !!!!
I am a poster child for NEVER TOO LATE LOL!!!

I am in good company !
DID YOU KNOW ...

F. Murray Abraham got his first decent screen role as an actor when he was 45. The role was in the movie Amadeus and he won an Academy Award for his brilliant portrayal of Antonio Salieri. He had thought of giving up acting just two years before but thankfully didn't. 

Andrea Bocelli didn't start singing opera seriously until the age of 34. Some 'experts' told him it was too late to begin.

Phyliss Diller became a comedian at the age of 37. She was told by many club owners that she was "too old" to become a success.

Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, was 43 when he began drawing his legendary superheroes and his partner Jack Kirby was 44 when he created The Fantastic Four.

Julia Child didn't even learn to cook until she was almost 40 and didn't launch her popular show until she was 50.

Elizabeth Jolley had her first novel published at the age of 56. In one year alone she received 39 rejection letters but finally had 15 novels and four short story collections published to great success

Mary Wesley was 71 when her first novel was published.

Harlan Sanders, the Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, was 66 when he began to promote his style of cooking and create an empire.

Laura Ingalls Wilder began writing as a columnist in her 40s. Contrary to a belief begun by the TV series about her family, the popular Little House books weren't written when she was a young girl at all. They were written and published when the 'girl' was in her 60's!

Sylvia Lieberman became an entrepreneur in fall 2007 when she was 90. This is when she realized her dream of having her first children’s book published. So why not start a company to author and promote the book?
Archibald”s Swiss Cheese Mountain is an award-winning book about a little mouse with a big heart who teaches children how to reach their big dreams.

Anna Mary Robertson Moses is one of the biggest names in American folk art, and she didn't even pick up a brush until she was well into her eighth decade.
Grandma Moses was originally a big fan of embroidery, but once her arthritis grew too painful for her to hold a needle, she decided to give painting a try in the mid-1930s.
She was 76 when she cranked out her first canvas, and she lived another 25 years as a painter -- long enough to see the canvases she had sold for $3 fetch prices north of $10,000.

Ronald Reagan had been no slouch as an actor, but he wasn't elected to his first public office until he was 55 years old. In 1966 Reagan won California's gubernatorial race by over a million votes. 

Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn was founded by Orville Redenbacher and Charles F. Bowman in 1965 when Redenbacher was 58. To this day it is still the #1 selling brand of popcorn.

 

Our Place - written February 14, 2007
 Patricia Neely-Dorsey

New Year's Resolutions : Plan your Work and Work Your Plan ...Just Do it ! Get On It ! Keep On It !

Being a writer/poet, I was very intrigued and inspired, when I came across this entry of New Year's Resolutions written in a journal , by a not yet famous...but eventually wildly famous , poet Gwendolyn Brooks. Most of her resolutions were focused on her writing/her art/her craft and she was very specific. 

Gwendolyn Brooks : New Year's Resolutions - 1934
Journal Entries

1. Write some poetry every day.
2. Write some prose every day.
3. Draw every day.
4. Improvise at least ten pieces of music.
5. Invent several dances, including variations of the tap dance, and know them perfectly.
6. Sing persistently and improve voice by 1935.
7. Have at least seven stories accepted, and paid for by 1935?
8. Have at least fifteen poems accepted and published during the year.
9. Practice the piano continually.
10. Use correct English.
(From George Kent's book , A Life of Gwendolyn Brooks. Lexington : UP of Kentucky, 1990.


About Gwendolyn Brooks
Brooks' first book of poetry, A Street in Bronzeville (1945), published by Harper and Row, earned instant critical acclaim. She received her first Guggenheim Fellowship and was included as one of the “Ten Young Women of the Year” in Mademoiselle magazine. With her second book of poetry, Annie Allen (1950), she became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry
1968, appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois. 1985, selected as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, an honorary one-year position whose title was renamed the next year to Poet Laureate. 1988, inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. 1989, awarded the Robert Frost Medal for lifetime achievement by the Poetry Society of America. 1994, chosen as the National Endowment for the Humanities' Jefferson Lecturer, one of the highest honors in American literature and the highest award in the humanities given by the federal government. 1995, presented with the National Medal of Arts.





Focus- Keep Your Eyes On The Prize!
Be Consistent-Keep "Doing It" !
Be Persistent-Don't Give Up !

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." - Napoleon Hill


Gwendolyn Brooks planned her work and worked her plan ...BIG TIME!!!
What's Your Master plan for 2013 ? Just Do It ! Get on It !!!

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES ~ Southern Style

CHILDHOOD CHRISTMAS

Christmastime at our house
Was such a joyous thing;
There was much anticipation
Of what the day would bring.

For many months prior,
The list making would begin;
There were so many things I wanted,
On pure memory I couldn't depend.

I carried handy 'round with me
A trusty little list.
There was not one single thing,
I wanted my parents to miss.

And every year, without a doubt,
I couldn't ask for any better,
For I 'd get everything on my list,
Down to the very letter.

The night before, my brother and I,
Would always try our best;
To catch ole Santa in his tracks,
So we'd get little rest.

We'd try to keep ourselves alert,
With a flashlight by our side;
But, every year ole St. Nick
Would cleverly by us slide.

We must have fallen fast asleep,
Before the morning's light;
Because our toys appeared miraculously,
Sometime through the night.

In our den, the floor was covered,
With toys of every kind;
The sheer volume of them all,
Would surely blow your mind.

We'd jump around from here to there,
And squeal with pure delight;
We couldn't have concealed our excitement,
If we tried with all our might.

Later on in the day,
The relatives would pour in;
For the traditional Christmas dinner,
With us and all our kin.

We's have such an array of food,
Usually, specialties of the South;
One year, we even had a whole roasted pig,
With an apple in his mouth.

We'd exchange gifts and laughter,
And each other's company enjoy ;
The men would often help assemble,
Some child's complicated toy.

Our festivities usually lasted,
Way into the night;
And after all was said and done,
We felt everything went just right.
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems
by Patricia Neely-Dorsey, Copyright © 2008


MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!

The Female Morgan Freeman??!!! Me??!!!!

Recently, I received one of the most amazing compliments from a Facebook friend after listening to my short audio readings of a couple of my poems.
He said that I had the perfect southern voice to go along with the verbally painted pictures of my poems.
THEN, he asked if I had heard Morgan Freeman narrate a book?
Duh! !!! Have I heard him???!!! Who hasn't heard him??!!!
Morgan Freeman is THE MASTER of narrations!!!! Period !!! 
And... he's a Mississippi Man ! Woo Hoo!!!! 

Anyway, my Facebook friend said :
"You have the female version going on . I would buy any book that was narrated by you.  You have that voice like the ones that I grew up hearing all my life... The voices of intelligent southern women. It's the sort of voice that will cause you to stop what you are doing and listen"

That has got to be among the best compliments I have EVER received ... comparing (in ANY way ) my reading to Morgan Freeman !!!! WOW!
The only thing that could even come close is the couple of times that people have said that my poems and reading reminded them of Maya Angelou. I ,also, will always remember one elderly gentleman coming up to me after one of my library readings and saying that he could listen to me read my poems all day long. 
I have been truly blessed through the sharing of my life in poems!
I only hope that others are being blessed even half as much by what I do ! 
Always, Always Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi.

 
NOTE TO SELF: I must get on the ball with those books on tape !

DECEMBER is National Read A New Book Month (I've Got a Suggestion For You !)

I LOVE to read ! I LOVE good books !

There is almost nothing more exciting than starting a new book!

One of the happiest moments in my life was when my son Henry came up to me (at about age 5 or 6) and told me " I just love to read!"
It kind of took me by surprise, because it just came out of the blue. 
I still remember it like it was yesterday . We were living in Memphis at the time. I was coming out of the kitchen or going into the kitchen and he stopped me in the dining room with his proclamation.
I gave him a big bear hug and told him that I was SO glad and that he had made his mother VERY happy. He REALLY had! After he walked away, I just stood there for a moment frozen, basking in the afterglow of this new found knowledge about my son.
My son was a "reader"! Of course, I knew that he could read and that he had hundreds of books to encourage him to read (courtesy of two parents who are crazy about books) ,but reading and being a "reader" are two totally different things. Readers know EXACTLY what I mean ! Being a reader runs in my family and I was so happy to find out that it was continuing in my son! I can't even image a life /my life) without books!

I wish that everyone could/would experience the joy of being a true "reader "!

Reading is Fundamental !

If you love Mississippi and you love the south or would like to have a little more 

insight into the southern way of life .

I know that you would really enjoy my books 

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - 

A Life In Poems - © 2008 

My Magnolia Memories - In Poems - © 2012

Think about them when you are looking for your 

next NEW book ! 

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - A Life In Poems = LINK TO PURCHASE

My Magnolia Memories - In Poems  = LINK TO PURCHASE

Made In Mississippi...Almost !

WARNING!!!
Before you read this post , please have a seat, take your blood pressure
medicine or WHATEVER you need to do ...

I have some shocking news for you!
Well, it's not NEW ...but it's news to some !!!

OK...Just Breathe!!!!     Here we go !!!!

I , Patricia Neely-Dorsey was not BORN in Mississippi !!!

OMG!!! I just heard someone hit the floor !!!!
I told you to SIT DOWN!!!!!! LOL!!!

It's true! I was actually born in Evanston, Illinois at Scott Air Force Base when
my Dad was in the U.S. Air Force.
Yes, Yes...as unbelievable as it might seem...
I was not even born on SOUTHERN soil.
I know I know..calm down...I get a little queasy just saying it myself !!!!LOL!!!
At one of my book signings one of my readers was telling me that the same thing happened to her sister while their Dad was in the military. She said that her grandmother mailed a box of Mississippi dirt to put under the bed so that her sister would be born on Mississippi soil !!! Yes, it's that deep ! It's that serious !
Anyway, my Dad was on his way out of the service but did not make it in time for me to make my debut where I belonged.
I actually did not make it HOME until I was about two months old.
Both of my parents are from West Point, Mississippi.
When Daddy was discharged, we headed there, then relocated to Tupelo a few months later.

I have told this story in so many interviews and still no one is trying to hear it ! LOL!
I have told people SO many times that I was not born in Mississippi that I have stopped correcting them when they say it in my introductions. I am sure there is a lot of mix up because in my poem "If Mississippi's In You " I say in the last lines........

Every true Mississippian can surely have it said ..
"I'm Mississippi born, I'm Mississippi bred and when
I die I'll be Mississippi dead "

It's hard to explain that I used "poetic license" on that ...because that is just the way the poem came to me , that's the way I wrote it and that is the way I felt and feel . ...Mississippi Through and Through...although a few months shy of having it as my birthplace !!! LOL!!
I wasn't born in Mississippi( or even in the South) ..But, I got here as quick as I could !
As always, I continue Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi.

Happy 195th Birthday, Mississippi!

Happy 195th Birthday, Mississippi!

 

Mississippi became the 20th State in the Union 

on this day in history December 10, 1817 !

 

In the beginning...MY POEMS

Wrote my very first poem February 14th , 2007.
I woke up out of my sleep with this poem swirling around in my head.
I got up and quickly scribbled it down.
It was "Our Place”, the first of many more poems to come. After that day, the poems just started to flow and flow. Within the span of about six months, I had written well over 200 poems.
Most of the poems in both of my books Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia and My Magnolia Memories and Musings came from that initial period of writing/inspiration.

It's funny that I very rarely, ever, sit down to intentionally write a poem.
Most of them come to me as I am going to sleep, waking up, in my dreams...
or ODDLY, when I am alone in my car.
I can safely say that well over 50% came to me and were written in my car.
I call it my 'personal think tank'.
When I am riding alone, with no conversations to distract me, with no music on or inside noise........the magic happens!