If I do not treat writing as essential for achieving thought, it is not clear why I should force my students to.

In a traumatic time, Nash Buckingham’s classic sporting tales helped me reconcile with the Mississippi Delta—at least for a while.

PLUS, a limited number of personalized signed copies of BACKSLIDE still available.

Friedman was in her early 20s when she landed her first position as an editorial assistant at NPR. She became an editor and reporter, and a co-creator of the annual Books We Love reading guide.

Published September 2026.The following statement was approved by the Association’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure in August 2026.

Most writers have ties to the Magnolia State, utilized Mississippi and other Southern locals in their works, or have examined Southern topics.

At noon on Wednesday, September 9, Ralph Eubanks, author of When It’s Darkness on the Delta: How America’s Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land, will examine the history and economy of the Mississippi...

With a low and smoky voice, she conjured the blues tradition of her native Mississippi in both her own songs and in covers.

A Kentucky farmer, he railed against agribusiness and championed small family farms and the environment, winning widespread acclaim.

The longtime publicist at the Boston-based press has been named director of publicity following the retirement of Pamela MacColl at the end of this summer.

W. Ralph Eubanks is an official panelist at the 2026 Mississippi Book Festival. He will be discussing his most recent book "When It's Darkness on the Delta."

Known for her outsize persona, appearance and talent, she rose from rural poverty to become a top-selling singer, songwriter and entrepreneur.

Where does the side of the angels really lie?

At noon on Wednesday, September 9, Ralph Eubanks, author of When It’s Darkness on the Delta: How America’s Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land, will examine the history and economy of the Mississippi...

For the author’s Russian Jewish grandparents, America offered an escape from fascism. That promise doesn’t seem so certain today.

With limited resources, branches across the Jackson/Hinds Library System are facing multiple repair issues often resulting in closures or reduced hours.

Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR One | 3:46

Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR One | 3:46

At the Andover Shop, Charlie Davidson sold tweeds, button-downs, and something harder to define: a style that drew together university grandees, jazz gods, and literary legends.

Did the Weather Underground have a point?

A biography of Hannibal Lecter. A meditation on trees. A memoir by a child prodigy violinist. A treatise on the way we poop. These are just a few of the nonfiction books our NPR colleagues are enjoyin...

A biography of Hannibal Lecter. A meditation on trees. A memoir by a child prodigy violinist. A treatise on the way we poop. These are just a few of the nonfiction books our NPR colleagues are enjoyin...

J. D. Vance’s second memoir, “Communion,” tells the story of his decision to become Catholic, but it’s strangely distasteful of the faith he has joined.

A case study in self-sabotage

How does a writer update her history of America when the past is a battleground and the President wants to erase the truth?

The justices again appear poised to pursue a purely theoretical liberty at the expense of the lives of people of color.

Nonfiction book bans are surging across America. But the Library of Congress has just opened a dazzling new gallery designed to show kids that research can be an adventure. My new newsletter: https...

Whitelashing: Black Politicians, Taxes, and Violence - Volume 83 Issue 2

May 7, 2026—A New York federal court in a 143-page decision today held for the Authors Guild plaintiffs on every count in its case on behalf of individual writers and scholars against DOGE and the NEH...

PEN America documents a doubling of censorship of nonfiction on subjects from history and health to general knowledge, including biographies and memoirs. The targeting of titles about real events or p...

The House chamber in the current Capitol is undergoing renovations, so House leaders chose to move to the Old Capitol Museum for the special session. The Senate still plans to meet in the current Capi...