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.
