William Weaks "Willie" Morris (November 29, 1934 — August 2, 1999), was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi, though his family later moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, 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 non-fiction, including his seminal book North Toward Home. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... November 29 is the 333rd (in leap years the 334th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Nickname: Coordinates: Country United States State Mississippi County Hinds Founded 1822 Government  - Mayor Frank Melton Area  - City  106. ... Yazoo City is a city located in Yazoo County, Mississippi. ... The U.S. Southern states or The South, known during the American Civil War era as Dixie, is a distinctive region of the United States with its own unique historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ... The shared flood plain of the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... An issue of Harpers Magazine from 1905 Another issue, from November 2004 Harpers Magazine (or simply Harpers) is a monthly general-interest magazine covering literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts from a progressive, moderate left perspective in a fashion often not found in the ordinary news...

Biography

Early years

Morris' parents moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi when he was just six months old. Yazoo City figures prominently in much of Morris' writing. After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class, Morris traveled to Austin to attend the University of Texas. He became a member of Delta Tau Delta international fraternity, where he has a room named after him in the chapter house. Yazoo City is a city located in Yazoo County, Mississippi. ... Nickname: Live Music Capital of the World Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: Country United States State Texas Counties Travis County, Williamson County Government  - Mayor Will Wynn Area  - City  296. ... The University of Texas at Austin, often called UT or Texas, is a doctoral/research university located in Austin, Texas. ...

His senior year in college, Morris was elected editor of the university's student newspaper, the award-winning The Daily Texan. His scathing editorials against segregation, censorship and state officials' collusion with oil and gas interests soon earned him both respect and enmity, particularly from the university's Board of Regents. The Daily Texan is the student newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin. ...

Morris graduated in 1956 and began studying history at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He returned to the United States to be the editor of The Texas Observer, a liberal weekly magazine. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Rhodes House in Oxford Rhodes Scholarships were created by Cecil John Rhodes. ... The Texas Observer (also known as the Observer) is an American political magazine published bi-weekly and based in Austin, Texas. ...

Harper's Magazine

Morris joined the staff of Harper's in 1963 as an associate editor, becoming editor-in-chief four years later, shortly before North Toward Home was published. North Toward Home, which became a bestseller and received the prestigious Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award for nonfiction, is an autobiographical account of Morris' childhood in Yazoo City, Mississippi, his early adulthood in Austin, Texas, and his eventual flight from the South to New York City. It has become revered for its tender reflections on Southern culture, particularly by other alienated expatriate Southerners who moved north but still feel drawn to their home states. 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...

As the youngest ever editor-in-chief of the influential literary magazine, Morris helped to launch the careers of several notable American writers including William Styron and Norman Mailer. However, the Cowles family, who owned the magazine, were uneasy with the content Morris chose, which included longer articles and overtly liberal sentiments that alienated advertisers. In the midst of falling revenues, the Cowles family expressed its discontent with Morris in clear terms, causing him to resign in 1971.

Morris returns home

In 1980, Morris moved back to his native state to be a writer-in-residence at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi where he encouraged a new generation of Mississipi writers including John Grisham. One of his books, My Dog Skip, was made into a 2000 movie starring Frankie Muniz, Diane Lane, Luke Wilson and Kevin Bacon. Morris died of a heart attack just before the movie debuted, after seeing an advance screening of the film and praising it. 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. ... Oxford is a city in Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. ... My Dog Skip is a 2000 movie, directed by Jay Russell. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cover image, My Dog Skip My Dog Skip is a 2000 movie, directed by Jay Russell. ... Frankie Muniz (born December 5, 1985, in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey) is an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award nominated American actor. ... Diane Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. ... Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American film actor. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

He is buried in Glenwood Cemetery in Yazoo City, mere steps away from the "grave" of the fictitious Witch of Yazoo, a character from one of Morris' books, Good Old Boy.

Books by Willie Morris

• My Dog Skip
• My Cat Spit McGee
• Faulkner's Mississippi
• Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood
• The Courting of Marcus Dupree
• 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
• 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

My Dog Skip is a 2000 movie, directed by Jay Russell. ... As with most of the BBCs regional news programmes, the titles are designed by Lambie-Nairn. ... Taps (Butterfields Lullaby), sometimes known by the lyrics of its second verse, Day is Done, is a famous musical piece, played in the U.S. military during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet. ...

External links and Resources

• Willie Morris' essay "Is There a South Anymore?"
• In Search of Willie Morris: The Mercurial Life of a Legendary Writer and Editor by Larry L. King
• Diane Rehm (NPR) Interview with Larry L. King, author of Willie Morris biography
• "Willie Morris," by Jack Bales, for The Mississippi Writers Page at the University of Mississippi
• Faulkner's Mississippi. Text by Willie Morris, photographs by Willian Eggleston. (book review by Carl Edwin Lindgren). PSA Journal, July 1991.
• Conversations with Willie Morris, edited by Jack Bales: ISBN 1-57806-237-3
• Shifting Interludes: Selected Essays, by Willie Morris, edited by Jack Bales: ISBN 1-57806-478-3
• Willie Morris: An Exhaustive Annotated Bibliography and a Biography by Jack Bales: ISBN 0-7864-2478-8