I’m seated by a floor-to-ceiling window in a Memphis coffee shop waiting for a former professor of mine. Memphis, because it’s his home turf. I watch the passersby coming and going on this sunny Saturday, and as I’m looking outside, I see Bobby C. Rogers turning the corner of Cooper and Cowden. He is a professor of English at Union University.
Read MoreWhen I moved to Jackson to attend Union University, I had no connections to the community. I didn’t know anyone who lived here and planned to escape Jackson as soon as I got my degree. A few weeks into my freshman year, one of my professors gave his class two options: we could write a ten-page research paper, or we could volunteer for a couple hours a week throughout the semester at an after-school program called the HUB Club.
Read MoreI often think of the power of words. The words others use to you about you, the words you use. The words that came before us and the words that will come long after we’re gone. The very same tool that can inspire and lead to greatness also can be used to cut down, leaving only rubble where something wonderful should have stood. Jackson could be either of those, and the power is in those who call it home.
Read MoreExit 85: West Tennessee School for the Deaf. I take this exit off of I-40 every week to go to my English lessons. The exit sign catches my eye (and not just because it is also the exit for Christmasville Road, which I think is a pretty fantastic name for a road). Here is some background to the significance of my road sign musings: my youngest brother, Jack, is hard of hearing. After we found out about his hearing loss, our family moved several hours away in order to be near a good school for him.
Read MoreNestled on top of a hill and surrounded by a beautiful vineyard is the charming Botbyl Pottery & Companion Gallery, where you will find a gorgeous selection of handmade pottery, baskets, textiles, jewelry, and even handmade bath products. The majority of the pottery in Companion Gallery is made by owner Eric Botbyl, who is a longtime artist and potter. The gallery also features work by Kelsey Nagy, Amelia Stamps, Shadow May, Caroline Cercone, Becky Rosenkrans, and Made on Acorn Hill.
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