An Encyclopedia for Mississippi

At 1,451 pages, with more than 1,600 entries, the newly published Mississippi Encyclopedia is nine pounds of meticulously researched material that reveals not just the Mississippi we know and love (and sometimes love to hate) but also aspects of the state guaranteed to surprise and challenge stereotypes. Ted Ownby, professor of history and director of the Center for Southern Culture at Ole Miss, who co-edited the Mississippi Encyclopedia with Charles Reagan Wilson, described the project as a “fourteen-year labor of love.” “We started with a group of thirty topic editors,” he explained by phone from Oxford. “They came up with fifty to sixty topics based around their scholarly areas of expertise—from agriculture and architecture to the Civil War, civil rights, education, migration, literature, and so on.”

From there the editors reached out to scholars and researchers who were leaders in their fields, then branched out to emerging scholars and willing enthusiasts. “We ended up with around six hundred contributors in the end,” said Ownby. But wait: in the Age of Google, who needs a 1,400-page, nine-pound encyclopedia? Everyone who loves learning, asserts Ownby. Those who grew up with a World Book or Encylopedia Brittanica on the bookshelves know the joy of opening a volume to look up, say, William Faulkner; then getting sidetracked discovering interesting things about Fayette, falconing, and French Camp. As a tool for associative learning, the Internet can’t touch an encyclopedia. “What I hope is that this book lets people find their own way through, and to, what they feel is important about Mississippi,” observed Ownby. “One of the reasons it’s important to have a physical book is that it says, all Mississippi experiences are part of the same story.”

On November 2, the Mississippi Encyclopedia will make its Natchez debut, with a presentation and book signing by Ted Ownby and Charles Wilson at the library of Copiah Lincoln Community College, 11 Co-Lin Circle, at 5:30 pm. The book, incidentally, includes more than 135 references to the Natchez area—more than any other part of the state. The event is free, and all are welcome.