BLOG HOP....About This Mississippi Author...Me !

I have been asked by children's book author Pat Brannon to participate in a blog hop to introduce readers to new audiences.
Below are my answers to the Blog Hop questions. Enjoy ! 


BLOG HOP- What's going on with me.

1.)  What are you working on right now?

Much of my time is spent working on promoting both of my books, Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life In Poems and My Magnolia Memories and Musings-In Poems with the overall message behind them, of "Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi ."  I do many speaking engagements all around the state, using my books as a platform to further that message.  It is something that I am very passionate about.   Also, I have been continuously compiling and writing poems for my third book, Mississippi In Me-Poems and More, which I hope to have published possibly by early 2015. It will be the final book in a trilogy, of sorts. 

2.)  How does your writing process work?

I don't really have any formal process for my writing/poems.  I usually am inspired by something happening around me or a memory of something from the past that is triggered ...and the muse hits!
There are very few poems, in either one of my books, that were written because I sat down with the intention to write them.  My very first poem was written in 2007 when I was awakened out of my sleep with a poem swirling around in my head. I got up and quickly scribbled it down.  From then on, most of my poems have come to me in a very spontaneous manner.

3.)  Who are authors that you most admire?

There are so many authors that I admire and am inspired by.
One of my very favorites is Maya Angelou ! I absolutely love her knowledge, her wisdom and her style.

4.)  Where do you turn for instruction and inspiration? 

Most of what I write is simply inspired by this beautiful state and region that I am blessed to call home.  Most of my inspiration naturally springs from the great love that I have for this place and the people.
The bible says "out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" ... 
With me, it just also happens to "speak" through the pen.

  

    Please do visit Pat's blog to check out her answers, too ! 

 

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE SOUTH - It's Real Love !

Everyone knows that my mantra is .....

 "Always, Always Celebrating the South and 
Promoting a Positive Mississippi".  

I use my books and poems as a platform to emphasize and highlight the positive things about Mississippi and the south, rather than all of the negatives usually portrayed.  In one of the earliest reviews of my first book Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia (2008), the reviewer dubbed it, "a love letter to the South" I totally agreed with that analysis.

It really took me by surprise, recently, when a friend told me that she had been asked by someone if I was really REAL about what I was saying.  The friend immediately told her that I was as real as real can get and as real as they come!  I thank her for saying that, because that is the way I try to be about everything I say and do, not just regarding my love of Mississippi and the South.

I think that it surprised me most, because it sort of implied that I was making up the things that I was saying just to help promote or sell books.  That could not be further from the truth.

First of all, it is not a very popular stance among a lot of people. Most people outside of the South seem to feel that there are no redeeming qualities at all, for the region below the Mason Dixon Line.  There are even many who live in the South who have gotten caught up in the trend of accenting all of the negatives without any regard for the rest.   Some ridiculous survey done earlier this year asking which states would people most like to kick out of the union (The U.S.), Mississippi and Alabama were the top two on the list.   And most of the others states on the list were southern.  Southern-bashing had almost become an Olympic sport!   It has been practiced and perfected into an art !  Almost all of the movies, films, books, and documentaries about the South,  overwhelmingly portray a negative image or have a decidedly negative slant to them.  Most people accept, maintain and even relish a negative view of the South.

Secondly, this passionate "love affair" with the South and things southern is nothing new to me.  It is something that has been going on since I was in my late teens.  I have certainly had this love inside of me all of my life.  But, I must admit, I really didn't know how MUCH I loved or appreciated the South until I was away from her for an extended period of time.   When I went away to school at Boston University, I gained a whole new perspective and appreciation of my homeland.  It became my soap box topic to "preach" about.  Whenever my friends saw me coming, they knew exactly what we were going to talk about. They knew that they were going to be "schooled" on some of the finer points of the South and set straight on some of the many misconceptions that they had.  It was not uncommon to hear someone yelling my nickname, "Mississippi", across campus.  I totally and proudly " repped " (represented) for her !

Some people cannot even imagine how and why I feel the way I do about my home state and region.  I totally understand their views, considering all of the negatives that they have been bombarded with.

Hopefully,  I can change a few hearts and minds along the way to just even give our region a fighting chance, before totally disregarding, dismissing and disregarding her beauty.   More than anything I want to introduce the fact that there are so many things to love about the South, that there are many people who love her and that the love that they have is really REAL! . 

 

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BOOKS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON:

 http://tinyurl.com/reflections-pnd 

http://tinyurl.com/magnolia-mem-pnd 

I'M MISSISSIPPI PROUD: A Mississippian has been named on Time magazine's list of 100 Most Influential People 2013

I'M MISSISSIPPI PROUD: A Mississippian 
has been named on Time magazine's list of 
100 Most Influential People 2013

Time Magazine has recently unveiled it's Time 100 issue, featuring Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. For the first time, the issue, out on news stands this past Friday, features seven separate covers, each featuring a member of the list. Jennifer Lawrence, Jay-Z, Elon Musk (CEO and founder, SpaceX; co-founder, Tesla Motors and PayPal), Sen. Rand Paul and teen activist Malala Yousafzai each appear solo on the five domestic split covers. Internationally, Li Na and Aamir Khan are also featured along with some of the U.S. covers.

This year Mississippian, Dr. Hannah Gay, a pediatrician at the University of Mississippi Medical Center who recently functionally cured an HIV-positive infant, has been honored by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
  

Dr. Hannah Gay

This year's list includes 35 women.   President Obama is on the list for the eighth time, more than any other person on the list.
•Other repeats on the list: Joe Biden, Chris Christie, Mario Draghi, Gabrielle Giffords, LeBron James, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, Kate Middleton, Elon Musk, Michelle Obama, Shonda Rhimes, Sheryl Sandberg, Aung San Suu Kyi, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z and Ren Zhengfei.
•Stars on the list  include Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Bryan Cranston, Lena Dunham, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lawrence, Miguel and Justin Timberlake.

 I am more than proud that a
Mississippian has made the list this year!
This is just one more thing that I can add to the long list of proud moments I can associate with our great state, as I go about my usual business of Always, Always Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi. 
 

 LINKS TO BOOKS ON AMAZON:

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems


My Magnolia Memories and Musings- In Poems




Other Notable Mississippi Medical Accomplishments

The VERY FIRST heart transplant and the VERY FIRST lung transplant, 
in the world, were performed by Dr. James Hardy at the University Medical Center 
in JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI.

Dr. James Hardy

 
























 


In 1936, Dr. Leslie Vaughn Rush performed the first bone pinning in the United States at Rush Hospital in Meridian, Mississippi and later developed the "Rush Pin" still in use today.

Dr. Arthur Guyton wrote the Textbook of Medical Physiology, used by medical students around the world since 1956. The best-selling physiology book ever published, this textbook may very well ...be the best-selling medical textbook of any kind. UMC physiologist, Dr. John Hall, assisted Dr. Guyton with the ninth and tenth editions of the textbook. Upon Dr. Guyton’s death in 2003, Dr. Hall took over the textbook, thus continuing to help educate the finest future physicians in the world

Dr. Arthur Guyton

April is National Poetry Month ! POETRY MATTERS !!!

I am so happy to know that my "little books of southern poems" have been able
to reach, touch and affect so many people, in more ways that I could ever have imagined.
This Mississippi poet has truly been touched and humbled by that !

Recently, a dear Facebook friend made some beautiful comments on an interview
that I did on author Carl Purdon's blog for Poetry Month.
I am rarely left speechless, but the words that she shared really got me !
As the old folks would say: I was "full"!
As you know "fullness " often spills over ...in tears. It did !

Here are her comments:


"I have really loved getting to know the heart of Patricia via her poetry, Facebook activity and personal correspondence. I have the utmost respect for her. This an excellent interview and have loved reading this experiencing it as a walk with her in a garden with the fragrance of her well loved Magnolias in the air, the Sun shining just for us and the lovely sounds of nature in the background.
When her books were deposited into my life I was daily a Caregiver for a lovely Southern Belle herself. In her day she was an avid reader and while mystery novels were her voice she loved poetry. I read the books to her with her often asking "go back and read that again" over and over. Then she'd ask to see, meaning 'hold' the book. There are so many selections that took net back to her childhood in Alabama, while not Mississippi, still 'The South' with many of the same experiences.
Early Monday morning, March 25th our Lord reached His hand out to her and she reached out to take it. When her daughter-in law walked by her door around 1:00 AM, there was no more breath in her. Since then I've thought about how she would lovingly hold Patricia's book to her chest with the most wonderful far away look on her face that truly lit up her countenance.
These are just some of the moments I've spent enjoying Patricia's writings. I am looking forward to a 3rd edition.
Thanks again for this great interview."
Jennie Heberg

I must say, you never know how much/how often/how deeply you can/might affect people around you with just being you ..and doing what you do. I am so glad and feel so privileged and blessed that I can have a positive effect on so many people by doing what I love ...Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi through my poems. I love doing what I do. I love shining a light on the positive side of my state and region.
My message to all is.... Be You ! Do You ! Shine !
You never know who you will touch !


LINK TO INTERVIEW -  Author Carl Purdon

http://www.carlpurdon.blogspot.com/2013/04/10-questions-patricia-dorsey.html



I, also, recently received a note from a Facebook friend who had just received her books in the mail. She wrote:

"Thank you for these lovely gifts to pass down to my Children's, Children someday of their Momma's Roots. I appreciate your Gift of writing such vivaciously of our Rich Heritage and Homeland."

~*~ LINKS TO MY BOOKS ON AMAZON ~*~  ........

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems

 

My Magnolia Memories and Musings- In Poems

 

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 !!!