The latest marker on the The Mississippi Writers Trail honors Mississippi-born writer Dorothy Sample Shawhan.
A ceremony was held in Cleveland on the Delta State University campus, where she was a professor.
Shawhan was born in Tupelo and grew up in Verona. She began teaching at Delta State in 1981 where she received honors for excellence in education and writing. She was the author of two novels, “Lizzie” and “Going to Graceland,” along with several biographies. Shawhan also was the co-founder of a literary journal, “Tapestry,” that publishes the work of faculty at Delta State.
“The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area is proud to support the expansion of Mississippi Writers Trail markers throughout our region. Literary arts are an important facet of the MDNHA cultural heritage theme ‘Growing More Than Cotton: The Delta as a Wellspring of Creativity,’” said Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Executive Director Rolando Herts, Ph.D.
Along with Herts, speakers at the event included Cleveland Mayor Billy Nowell and Andres Novobilski, Ph.D., Delta State provost and vice president for academic affairs. Also speaking were Delta State Professor Susan Allen Ford, Ph.D., and Dr. John Thornell.
“The Mississippi Writers Trail celebrates the best literary achievements of our state’s remarkable community of authors. Dorothy Shawhan’s work empowered women’s voices and brought her characters to life with her sense of humor and her keen imagination,” said Visit Mississippi Director Craig Ray. “Her voice and her stories are welcome and worthy representatives of Mississippi’s literary heritage.”
