Our conversation this week is with Katie McKee, Professor of English and Director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. What fascinates you? Answering this question honestly can lead to a life of constant learning and lifelong company from some interesting people - even if they're long gone. For Katie McKee, one of those people is Reconstruction-era writer Sherwood Bonner. Unconventional and impassioned, Sherwood transgressed cultural norms to live and write on her own terms (even if that got her in trouble with the Transcendentalists). She did this all in a period of intense transition for the United States and her home state of Mississippi. This coincidence of an intriguing human and time in American history became Katie's fascination, and she turned it into a great book.  In this episode, you'll learn more about the life and work of Sherwood Bonner, Katie's perspectives on teaching literature and film, the significance of the Center of the Study of Southern Culture, and why Katie still believes in the transformative power of literature.  Mentioned in this episode: Center for the Study of Southern Culture  Reading Reconstruction: Sherwood Bonner and the Literature of the Post-Civil War South Bill Ferris Dialect Tales by Sherwood Bonner Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Gentleman of Sarsar by Sherwood Bonner Like Unto Like by Sherwood Bonner Wilma Dykeman Mae Miller Claxton The Moviegoer by Walker Percy  The Loss of the Creature by Walker Percy Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard Fred Hobson Southern Foodways Alliance Living Blues Southern Documentary Project Willa Cather Foundation (donate and visit!)  

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