Rooted

Joesph Patri Brown Wants to Remember the People that Mississippi Has Executed and Exonerated

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com [https://rooted.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Our April Bottom Reader Book Club was truly a one-of-a-kind experience. Instead of our usual livestream, we needed to accommodate the tech needs of our featured writer Joesph Patri Brown, who is incarcerated on Parchman’s death row. Through a highly technical set-up of propped cardboard boxes in my co-facilitator Dr. Alison Turner’s office, we were able to bring Joesph in for a Zoom session to discuss his powerful and structure-defying memoir The Image They Had Painted [https://www.publicationstudio.biz/books/the-image-they-had-painted/]. This was a deeply impactful discussion for all involved, not least of all for Joesph, who grew up in Natchez and has expressed his desire for his story to reach fellow Mississippians directly. We kicked off the conversation by hearing how Joesph and Alison, Joesph’s editor, created the book’s dual dedications. The book can be read in either direction—on one side, it is dedicated to those exonerated, on the other, those executed. Throughout his thirty-four years on death row, Joesph has maintained his innocence, and worked to overturn his conviction. During those decades he has known many men who have been executed and a much smaller number who have been exonerated. While this discussion had heavy moments, there was also plenty of lightness and laughter. As Joesph reminded Alison and me multiple times while preparing for the book club: Just have fun. We had a great time celebrating Joesph and The Image They Had Painted. I hope you, too, enjoy the recording of this conversation. You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/558Lsln48WOPkiasgmWxSX?si=8eb654c3a7914974] Subscribe to Rooted on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers. Read along with the Bottom Readers! May 27 - When We Were Murderous, Time-Traveling Women [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781956615623] with Ellen Morris Prewitt June 30 - The Seven Daughters of Dupree [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781668051948] by Nikesha Elise Williams with guest host Exodus Brownlow July 15 - The Irish Goodbye [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781324117407] by Beth Ann Fennelly with guest host Catherine Simone Gray August 25 - https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780593239803America, U.S.A. [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780593239803] by Eddie Glaude with guest host Talamieka Brice

Catherine Pierce Didn't Write a "Cutesy Book" About Motherhood

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com [https://rooted.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Since I’ve started doing the Bottom Reader Book Club livestreams at home, I’m always aware of the possibility that my four-year-old could go rogue during her bedtime routine and come busting into the room where I’m recording, ready to take center stage among the talking heads on screen. This week, I took comfort in the fact that should this situation occur, my fellow book club conversation partners would absolutely understand (spoiler alert: there were no bedtime breakouts! Dad for the win.). Not only are Katie Pierce and Catherine Simone Gray [https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-native-catherine-simone?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web] both mothers, but they find creative inspiration in both the beauty and exhaustion of motherhood. Katie Pierce’s new memoir, Foxes for Everybody: Twenty-Four Hours of Early Motherhood [https://rooted.substack.com/p/book-club-foxes-for-everybody-by#:~:text=Order%20Foxes%20for%20Everybody], is a profound study of the marvels of parenthood that coexist alongside sleep deprivation and the chaos of getting out the door on a school morning. I loved hearing from Katie about the unique structure of the book—twenty four essays that correspond with the hours of the day—and the way the book’s structure mirrors the many sleepless nights of early parenthood. We also discussed our thoughts on the parallels between writing and parenting, and how to create balance between dark and light, humor and heaviness in a collection. You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/558Lsln48WOPkiasgmWxSX?si=8eb654c3a7914974] Subscribe to Rooted on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers. See Catherine and her husband Michael Kardos on tour for their newly released books! April 6: Friendly City Books at Bushy’s Clubhouse, Columbus April 7: Lemuria Books, Jackson April 8: Off Square Books, Oxford April 9: Mississippi State University Read along with the Bottom Readers! April 30 - The Image They Had Painted [https://www.publicationstudio.biz/books/the-image-they-had-painted/] with Joesph Patri Brown and Alison Turner May - When We Were Murderous, Time-Traveling Women [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781956615623] with Ellen Morris Prewitt

W. Ralph Eubanks Thinks America Needs a Reckoning with the Delta

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com [https://rooted.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] On February 24, the Bottom Reader Book Club dipped out of watching the State of the Union and showed our patriotism in another way: we discussed W. Ralph Eubanks’ groundbreaking book When It’s Darkness on the Delta: How America’s Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780807045329]. If you read the book—and listen to the book club discussion—it quickly becomes clear that the story Ralph is telling is not simply a regional one, but a national one. Ralph tackles the mythology of the Delta, and in doing so, he unwinds the beliefs that have shaped our country’s policies related to poverty, hunger, agriculture, healthcare, and civil rights. I always appreciate the perspective my book club co-host Talamieka Brice brings to the table. As she said during our conversation: “This book burst my heart wide open.” When It’s Darkness on the Delta is indeed a heart- and head-opening book. Our hourlong discussion flew by, and I’ve spent a log of time reflecting on the takeaways since then. I hope you enjoy the discussion—and drop a comment to let us know what you thought of the book. You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/558Lsln48WOPkiasgmWxSX?si=8eb654c3a7914974] . Subscribe to the show on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers. Thank you Psychedelic Literature [https://substack.com/profile/14065070-psychedelic-literature], Chistopher Norment [https://substack.com/profile/194897183-chistopher-norment], and many others for tuning into my live book club with W. Ralph Eubanks [https://substack.com/profile/34736669-w-ralph-eubanks] and Talamieka Brice [https://substack.com/profile/139400285-talamieka-brice]! Join me for my next live conversation in the app. Ralph on how the subtitle of the book evolved: Ralph on why writing this book scared him: How poet, essayist and playwright June Jordan became “the muse” for this book: Bottom Reader Book club is continuing in 2026…Read along with us! March 31: Foxes for Everybody: Twenty-Four Hours of Early Motherhood [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780810149533] with Catherine Simone Gray and author Catherine Pierce April 28 - Joesph Patri Brown’s The Image They Had Painted [https://www.publicationstudio.biz/books/the-image-they-had-painted/]

What Writing Taught Beth Ann Fennelly About Revising Her Own Life Stories

I’ve long admired writer Beth Ann Fennelly—a fellow Mississippi transplant and memoirist. Not only did I devour her last book (and first collection of micro-memoirs), Heating & Cooling [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780393356489], but I later went back to her 2006 epistolary memoir Great with Child [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780393329780], which was a balm during my COVID-era pregnancy. Mississippi’s former poet laureate needs no introduction—which is fitting considering how I completely failed to introduce her at the start of our conversation! Beth Ann Fennelly’s forthcoming book, The Irish Goodbye [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781324117407], is a powerful follow-up to Heating and Cooling, and as Beth Ann shared in our conversation, the cover was intentionally designed to be in conversation with the 2017 collection. During our conversation, Beth Ann talked about how the micro-memoir (a term she coined) combines her favorite elements from the genres she writes in, about how she whittled her manuscript into it’s current form, and about writing through and into grief. And yes, she spoke about learning to revise the stories she once believed about herself—something I found deeply relatable. By the way, we caught up less than twenty-four hours after power was (thankfully, finally) restored to Beth Ann’s Oxford home. Read this essay [https://gardenandgun.com/articles/a-beloved-oak-fell-and-oxford-rose/] she just published in Garden & Gun about surviving the storm and losing a beloved tree. The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781324117407] comes out February 24 and is available now for pre-order. Head to Beth Ann’s website [https://www.bethannfennelly.com/events] to see her upcoming calendar of book tour events. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rooted.substack.com/subscribe [https://rooted.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Why Don't We Claim Catherine Lacey As a Mississippi Writer?

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rooted.substack.com [https://rooted.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] I kicked off the first Bottom Reader Book Club of 2026 with friends! Rather than our usual author chat, I talked with Leslie Barker, a director and playwright, and Talamieka Brice, a visual artist and filmmaker, about the 2023 novel Biography of X [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781250321688] by Tupelo native Catherine Lacey. It felt appropriate to talk with artist friends about this fictional biography of a “deified” multi-hyphenate artist. We talked about Lacey’s world building, in which she envisions an alternate history of the United States, and mused on why we think she isn’t widely recognized or celebrated as a Mississippi writer, despite Mississippians’ tendency to claim any celebrated figure with a connection to the state. This was a fun and thought-provoking discussion—especially because we didn’t always agree. If you’ve read Biography of X [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9781250321688] or any of Lacey’s other books, let me know what you thought! Big thanks to Leslie and Talamieka—as well as all the readers who tuned in for the livestream. You can listen to these book club recordings in the Substack app, in your web browser, or on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/558Lsln48WOPkiasgmWxSX?si=8eb654c3a7914974]. Subscribe to the show on Spotify to get notifications when new episodes are released. Recorded book club conversations are only available to paid subscribers, but the live book club sessions will continue to be free and open to all readers. On Catherine Lacey’s love and critique of the South: On why we both judge and pity X: On how we’d view the book differently if X was a man: Bottom Reader Book club is continuing in 2026…Read along with us! February 24 at 7pm CT: When It’s Darkness on the Delta [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780807045329] with author W. Ralph Eubanks [https://open.substack.com/pub/rooted/p/mississippi-native-w-ralph-eubanks?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web] and Talamieka Brice March: Foxes for Everybody: Twenty-Four Hours of Early Motherhood [https://bookshop.org/a/88903/9780810149533] with author Catherine Pierce April: The Image They Had Painted [https://www.publicationstudio.biz/books/the-image-they-had-painted/]with author Joesph Patri Brown Rooted Magazine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.