The Mississippi Writers Trail is a series of historical markers which celebrate the literary, social, historical, and cultural contributions of Mississippi's most acclaimed and influential writers. An advisory committee of state cultural agencies oversees the process of installing historical markers in places of significance to an author's life. To emphasize the literary focus of the trail, the markers are cast in the shape of an open book and display information about the author's life with the goal of educating the public about the legacy of Mississippi writers.

Overview

The Mississippi Writers Trail debuted on the State Capitol grounds in Jackson, Mississippi at the 2018 Mississippi Book Festival with an unveiling of two marker prototypes honoring

Eudora Welty Eudora Alice Welty (April 13, 1909 – July 23, 2001) was an American short story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the American South. Her novel '' The Optimist's Daughter'' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerou ...

and

Jesmyn Ward Jesmyn Ward (born April 1, 1977) is an American novelist and a Professor of English at Tulane University, where she holds the Andrew W. Mellon Professorship in the Humanities. She won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction for her second novel ...

, connecting the past and present contributions of Mississippi authors. The program runs as an unfunded mandate which means these literary markers are produced and installed as funding becomes available. Initial support from a Statehood Grant through the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

was key for installing the first phase of markers for the Trail. The Writers Trail has received additional support from the

Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area that seeks to preserve and promote the landscape, culture and history of the Mississippi Delta in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi. T ...

, the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area, and the City of Clarksdale, Mississippi to install markers for authors located within the service area of each organization.

Selection and placement process

The Mississippi Writers Trail Advisory Committee, composed of many state cultural institutions, selects several scholars who identify potential authors for inclusion in the Writers Trail and to draft the text for each marker. Final locations are determined in consultation with local communities; authors or their surviving families are consulted for the market text as well.

Mississippi Writers Trail Advisory Committee

* Mississippi Arts Commission * Mississippi Development Authority, Visit Mississippi * Mississippi Humanities Council * Mississippi Library Commission * Mississippi Department of History and Archives * Community Foundation for Mississippi * Mississippi Book Festival

Mississippi Writers Trail markers

References

{{refs Writers from Mississippi Mississippi culture Historic sites in Mississippi Historic trails and roads in the United States Tourist attractions in Mississippi