Mississippi Native: Gerry Wilson

"There may be a bit of a sense of duty that keeps me [in Mississippi]...but I think it’s less duty than love of family and friends and place. That’s the rooted part."

What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? Gerry Wilson has lived in Mississippi her whole life—she grew up in Pontotoc, in the north Mississippi Hills, and now calls Jackson home. While deep into motherhood and a teaching career, Gerry turned to creative writing, a practice which allowed her to reflect on her childhood memories and her experiences during the turbulent Civil Rights Era. She writes: “Home is where I learned to read before I started school, where I went barefoot on summer mornings, where Black children came to our house with their mother who worked for us, and we played in the yard, but never inside—such a telling detail when I look back on it.” This year, Gerry published her debut historical novel, That Pinson Girl, an unputdownable Southern Gothic tale following the seventeen-year-old single mother Leona Pinson as she navigates a hard scrabble life in north Mississippi during WWI and the influenza epidemic of 1918. That Pinson Girl is our Rooted Book Club pick this month. I’ll be talking with Gerry on Thursday June 27 at 7pm CDT (next week!). Join us for the live conversation on Streamyard.

Gerry Wilson lives in Jackson, Mississippi.

Where are you from?

I’m from Pontotoc, a little place nestled in the hills of north Mississippi between Oxford and Tupelo. William Faulkner called those red clay hills his “postage stamp of native soil,” and they are mine, too. My home town balances a strong sense of history with energy and enthusiasm for the future. Pontotoc boasts a beautiful courthouse and a square in the center of town.

You may have seen Eudora Welty’s photo taken there in the 1930s of men and women eating watermelon on the square. I love that photo. It was taken before my time, but it captures the spirit of the place; that was still the pace of life when I was growing up. On a recent visit, Pontotoc was bustling! I’m especially proud that there’s a bookstore (hello, Bookends) that sponsors a street party once a month. The Tanglefoot Trail, an old railroad route turned popular biking trail, runs right through town. I’m so proud that the Pontotoc Historical Society recently received a Smithsonian Small Town Exhibit grant. Although I haven’t lived there in many years, Pontotoc is still very much a part of me. It’s still home.

How long have you lived in Mississippi?

All my life, born and bred.

What does “home” mean to you? How does Mississippi fit into that definition?

Home is complicated, and Mississippi certainly fits that definition. Home is where I am, but it’s also where my memories are. It’s about story. An only child, I lived in a tiny brick house with my parents and maternal grandparents. My granddaddy had developed tuberculosis after he returned from France in WWI, and he remained an invalid throughout most of my childhood. One of my core memories is of him propped up in bed, listening to baseball games on his radio, smoking his Lucky Strikes in spite of having lost one lung to TB. He died when I was ten. Home has given me so many stories like this one!

Home is where I learned to read before I started school, where I went barefoot on summer mornings, where Black children came to our house with their mother who worked for us, and we played in the yard, but never inside—such a telling detail when I look back on it.

Jackson has been “home” for a very long time. I don’t think it matters much where I live in Mississippi. Its hold on me would be the same.

That Pinson Girl, Gerry's debut historical fiction novel, is set in 1918 in the north Mississippi Hills. Order a copy at Bookshop.org.