Mississippi Library Association

Memories of the Mississippi Delta

Polk, Nicey Hentz. Memories of the Mississippi Delta.
Denver: Outskirts Press, 2008.
102 pp. $11.95 (paperback)

In Memories of the Mississippi Delta, Nicey Hentz Polk presents a view of life in Mississippi from the period of slavery to the 1960s. The book blends poems and essays depicting the author’s childhood in Lambert, Mississippi, and her experience coming of age in Marks, Mississippi during the 1960s. This book places the author’s life in a historical context using discussions of cotton production, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, the Jim Crow Era, the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, the effect of northern migration on the decline of small towns, and the machinery that replaced workers.

The author presents an interesting view of the times and her life experiences in Mississippi. The story is told in short quips followed by poems. For example, a passage will describe the countryside, and
then a poem will describe what took place there, such as fishing. Some passages are longer, such as the description about love and work, but even these were too brief and broken up by poems. Thus, the book is interesting, but lacks coherency and does not present an organized view of events. A more chronological view of the experiences, with a slight interjection of poems, would have been clearer and more informative.

This book is a valuable source for anyone interested in life in Mississippi during slavery and the following eras or an account of the author’s life. It also provides insight into race relations in Mississippi. As such, the book is recommended for public, high school, and academic libraries.

William L. Bahr
Assistant Director
Pike-Amite-Walthall Library System

Entry Filed under: Book Reviews
Posted on: March 31st, 2009