William Weaks Morris (November 29, 1935 – August 2, 1999) was an American writer and editor born in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

, though his family later moved to

Yazoo City, Mississippi Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river' ...

, which he immortalized in his works of prose. Morris' trademark was his lyrical prose style and reflections on the American South, particularly the Mississippi Delta. In 1967 he became the youngest editor of '' Harper's Magazine''. He wrote several works of fiction and nonfiction, including his seminal book '' North Toward Home'', as well as ''

My Dog Skip {{Refimprove, date=March 2009 ''My Dog Skip'' is a memoir by Willie Morris published by Random House in 1995. ''My Dog Skip'' is the story about nine-year-old Willie Morris growing up in Yazoo City, Mississippi, a tale of a boy and his dog in ...

''.

Biography

Early years

Morris' parents moved to

when he was just six months old. Yazoo City figures prominently in much of Morris' writing. After graduating as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of Yazoo City high school, Morris traveled to Austin to attend the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

. He became a member of

Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapter ...

international fraternity, where he has a room named after him in the chapter house. In his senior year in college Morris was elected editor of the university's student newspaper, the award-winning ''

The Daily Texan ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spring semesters, and it is among ...

''. His scathing editorials against segregation, censorship and state officials' collusion with oil and gas interests soon earned him the enmity of university administrators, particularly from the university's Board of Regents. As an example of the animosity, Morris wrote in ''North Toward Home'' that the university did not acknowledge his award of a Rhodes Scholarship with even as much as a letter of congratulation. Although Morris's contribution to the university continues to go unrecognized, in 1997 ''The Daily Texan'' began honoring each year's best editorial writer with "The Willie Morris Award for Editorial Excellence." Morris graduated in 1957 and began studying History at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

as a Rhodes Scholar. While at Oxford, Morris played for the Oxford University men's basketball team. In 1958 he married Celia Buchan of Houston, and in 1959 they had a son, David Rae. The next year they returned to the United States, where he became the editor of ''

The Texas Observer ''The Texas Observer'' (also known as the ''Observer'') is an American magazine with a liberal political outlook. The ''Observer'' is published bimonthly by a 501(c)(3)Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award for non-fiction. It is an autobiographical account of his childhood in Yazoo City, Mississippi, early adulthood in Austin, Texas, and eventual move from the South to New York City. Critics cited the author for his tender reflections on Southern smalltown culture, and for the tone of those alienated expatriate Southerners who move north, but retain nostalgia for the South they left behind. As the youngest-ever editor-in-chief of an influential literary magazine, Morris helped to launch the careers of notable writers such as

William Styron William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work. Styron was best known for his novels, including: * '' Lie Down in Darkness'' (1951), his acclaimed fi ...

and Norman Mailer. But the Cowles family, owners of ''Harper's Magazine'', was perplexed by the content Morris published: longer articles of overtly liberal sentiment that offended more cautious advertisers. Amidst falling ad sales, the Cowles family expressed their dissatisfaction with Morris until he ultimately resigned under pressure in 1971.

Morris on Long Island

Following his resignation from Harper's, Morris moved to Bridgehampton, Long Island, where he lived for many years before returning to the South. During that time he became close friends with fellow writer James Jones, author of

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. A ...

, and Jones's wife Gloria. Later, when his friend lay dying in Southampton Hospital of heart failure, Willie Morris took notes from Jones about his work-in-progress, the novel ''

Whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a lar ...

'', which Morris finished for his friend Jones.

Morris returns home

In 1980, Morris returned to his native state to be writer-in-residence at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Ox ...

where he encouraged a new generation of Mississippi writers including

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Ame ...

, who acknowledged auditing Morris's writing classes, and

Donna Tartt Donna Louise Tartt (born December 23, 1963) is an American novelist and essayist. Early life Tartt was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta, the elder of two daughters. She was raised in the nearby town of Grenada. Her fa ...

, who enrolled in the University of Mississippi in 1981, and whose writing caught the attention of Willie Morris when she was a freshman. Following the suggestion of Morris and others, she transferred to Bennington College in 1982. One of Morris' books, '' Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood'' was made into a TV movie for Public Television by Disney and PBS Wonderworks and later re-titled ''

The River Pirates ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' in 1988 not far from where Morris lived. It starred

Richard Farnsworth Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for ''Comes a Horseman,'' and in 2000 for Best Actor in '' T ...

Maureen O'Sullivan Maureen O'Sullivan (17 May 1911 – 23 June 1998) was an Irish-American actress, who played Jane in the ''Tarzan'' series of films during the era of Johnny Weissmuller. She performed with such actors as Laurence Olivier, Greta Garbo, William ...

Dixie Wade Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas shift over the years), or the extent of the area it cover ...

Ryan Francis Ryan LeChanc Francis (March 17, 1987 – May 13, 2006) was an American college basketball player. At the time of his death, he was the starting point guard for the USC Trojans. He was murdered during a trip to his hometown in Baton Rouge, Lou ...

, Caryn West and Richard E. Council. In 2000, ''

'', another of Morris' books and an unofficial prequel to the earlier film, was made into a major motion picture starring

Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award ...

Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film '' A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to st ...

, Luke Wilson and

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...

. (Morris had previously written for ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'' a profile of his dog 'Pete,' whom he had adopted while living in

Bridgehampton, New York Bridgehampton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census. Bridgehampton is in the town of Southampton, on Long Island. Shortly after ...

. When Morris left Bridgehampton, he took Pete, who had formerly belonged to the owner of a local service station and whom Willie referred to as 'the Mayor of Bridgehampton,' back to Mississippi with him. Later, after Pete's death, Morris requested and received permission from the Episcopal church for a burial of Pete within the same cemetery where Morris himself would later be buried.) Morris died of a heart attack just before the movie debuted, after seeing an advance screening of the film and praising it. Willie Morris is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Yazoo City, close to the "grave" of the fictitious Witch of Yazoo, a character from one of Morris' books, ''Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood''. In life he counted among his friends a wide circle, including Yazoo City childhood friends, well-known writers like Winston Groom (''Forrest Gump''),

(''Sophie's Choice''),

John Knowles John Knowles (; September 16, 1926November 29, 2001) was an American novelist best known for ''A Separate Peace'' (1959). Biography Knowles was born on September 17, 1926, in Fairmont, West Virginia, the son of James M. Knowles, a purchasing ag ...

(''A Separate Peace''),

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth United States Poet Laureate in 1966. He also received the Order of the South award. Dickey is best known for his n ...

(''Deliverance'') and

Irwin Shaw Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' ...

(''Rich Man, Poor Man''), and Larry L. King ("The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"). Morris invited Dickey and King to join him as Associate Editors of Harper's when he became editor. Morris and King wrote for the Texas Observer, the progressive voice of Texas in the mid 20th century. Morris was revered by the students in his writing classes in Oxford. He was known as an unerring mimic with a warm sense of humor and a sense of the absurd. Morris helped two Mississippi residents by giving them a second chance at sight by being an eye donor. Morris appeared in Ken Burns's 1994 documentary ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

''.

Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction

Since 2007,

Reba White Williams Reba White Williams (born May 21, 1936), is an American author, philanthropist, and expert on fine art prints. As a novelist, her influences include Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. She and her husband, Dave H. Williams, built the wor ...

and Dave H. Williams have sponsored the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction. The award is given to a novel set in one of following Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, and which reflects the spirit of Morris's work. The novel should stand out for the quality of its prose, its originality, its sense of place and period, and the appeal of its characters. An independent panel of judges votes on the award from books submitted for consideration. Recipients of the award to date: * 2007: ''The King of Colored Town'' by Darryl Wimberley * 2008: ''City of Refuge'' by Tom Piazza * 2009: ''Secret Keepers'' by Mindy Friddle * 2010: ''Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter'' by Tom Franklin * 2011: ''If Jack's In Love'' by Stephen Wetta * 2012: ''A Short Time to Stay Here'' by Terry Roberts * 2013: ''Nowhere But Home'' by Liza Palmer * 2014: ''Long Man'' by

Amy Greene Amy Elizabeth Greene (born October 2, 1975) is an American novelist. Her debut novel, ''Bloodroot'', was a national bestseller. Her second novel, ''Long Man'', was published in March 2014. She is also a contributor to '' The'' ''New York Times'' ...

* 2015: ''The Headmaster’s Darlings: A Mountain Brook Novel'' by Katherine Clark * 2016: ''Last Ride to Graceland'' by Kim Wright * 2017: ''One Good Mama Bone'' by Bren McClain * 2018: ''The Past is Never'' by Tiffany Quay Tyson * 2019: ''In West Mills'' by DeShawn Charles Winslow

Bibliography

*''

'' *'' My Cat Spit McGee'' *'' Faulkner's Mississippi'' *'' Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood'' *'' Good Old Boy and the Witch of Yazoo'' *'' The Courting of Marcus Dupree'', winner of a

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization ...

in 1984 *'' New York Days'' *'' The Last of the Southern Girls'' *'' My Mississippi'' *'' Terrains of the Heart and Other Essays on Home'' *'' Ghosts of Medgar Evers'' *'' Homecomings'' *''

South Today ''BBC South Today'' is the BBC's regional television news service for the south of England, covering Hampshire, Isle of Wight, West Sussex, much of Dorset and parts of Berkshire, Surrey and Wiltshire. Since 2000, an opt-out of the main program ...

'' *'' Always Stand in Against the Curve, and Other Sports Stories'' *'' Yazoo: Integration in a Deep-Southern Town'' *'' North Toward Home'' *'' After All, It's Only a Game'' *'' Prayer for the Opening of the Little League Season'' *'' James Jones: A Friendship'' *'' Taps''

References

External links and resources

"A Tribute to Willie Morris," in ''The Southerner'' (1999), which includes Morris's essay, "Is There a South Anymore?"''In Search of Willie Morris: The Mercurial Life of a Legendary Writer and Editor,'' by Larry L. KingDiane Rehm (NPR) Interview with Larry L. King, author of Willie Morris biography

Willie Morris,”
by Jack Bales, Mississippi Writers Page, University of Mississippi.
''Conversations with Willie Morris'', edited by Jack Bales''Shifting Interludes: Selected Essays'', by Willie Morris, edited by Jack Bales''Willie Morris: An Exhaustive Annotated Bibliography and a Biography,'' by Jack BalesWillie Morris Collection (MUM00321)
owned by the University of Mississippi Department of Archives and Special Collections.
Michael Feldman Interview with Willie Morris, Whad'ya Know, 01/27/96
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Willie 1934 births 1999 deaths University of Texas at Austin alumni Writers from Jackson, Mississippi People from Yazoo City, Mississippi 20th-century American memoirists American Rhodes Scholars American magazine editors 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Alumni of New College, Oxford Novelists from Texas People from Bridgehampton, New York Journalists from Mississippi Writers of American Southern literature 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Mississippi American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American journalists American male journalists