Mississippi Transplant: Todd Osborne

"Living in Mississippi has provided a sense of purpose and focus that I don’t think I would have found if I lived elsewhere."

What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? Originally from Tennessee, Todd Osborne moved to Hattiesburg, MS, to pursue his PhD in Creative Writing. Along the way he found a community and met his wife through a shared love of literature and tabletop role-playing games. His debut collection of poetry, Gatherer (Belle Point Press), written during his time in Mississippi, will be published this month. Todd writes: “…living in Mississippi has given me perspective on my time growing up in Nashville, even as I find ways to talk about what it means to live and grow in Mississippi, too.” Below, he shares why he’s chosen to plant his roots in Hattiesburg.

Where are you from? 

Antioch, TN, about twenty minutes southeast of Nashville.

When did you move to Mississippi and why did you move here? 

I moved to Mississippi in the fall of 2015 to get my PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers.

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

Home is a place you choose. Easy enough for home to be where you are “from,” but more meaningful for home to be where you decide to stay. Where, if not everybody, many people know your name, or your face. It is a place where you can be yourself truly and fully. 

Mississippi has been that place for me since graduating from USM in the spring of 2019. It is hard when you are a grad student to feel connected to any one place. Everything feels so temporary, but once I knew that I would be sticking around in Mississippi, that sensation turned into trying to find the places that I could call home in this state. I have found that in Hattiesburg and I have been doing my best to create that sense of “home”-ness ever since.

What do you miss most about the place where you’re from?

For most people, the place you are from is not a static thing, and that feels especially so having grown up in the suburbs of Nashville. Every time I go home, I can’t help but notice the things that have changed. So many places I would frequent as a college kid in Nashville have disappeared or become weird shadow versions of themselves. All that being said, I miss my family. I miss my friends, many of whom still live in Nashville, but most of all I miss Nashville as it was, even as I recognize that change is a constant. It feels disorienting to return to Nashville now, even as it is often very rewarding and fulfilling to do so.

Todd and his wife Mary in front of their home in Hattiesburg.

How have you cultivated community in Mississippi? Who are the people who have made you feel rooted here?

I would love to say that much of the community I have made has come from finding people who are also invested in writing or reading. And while that is certainly the case to an extent, a large part of my community comes out of a love for tabletop role-playing games (think: Dungeons & Dragons). A good friend of mine was the manager of Top Tier Board Games in Hattiesburg, and he introduced me to an entire world that has completely changed my life for the better—most importantly, I met my wife at my first game of D&D! The friends I have made while playing these games have become life-long bonds that I can’t imagine my life without.

What’s the weirdest question or assumption you’ve encountered about Mississippi (or about you as a Mississippian) by someone who’s never been here?

The weirdest thing is the way people’s voices shift into a sort of pity when I tell them I live in Mississippi. People who have known me for a while will say things like “Still?” And I just want to shake them and say, “YES! STILL!” The assumption seems to be that there is nothing of merit or value in Mississippi, which is just categorically untrue. I love where I live, and I am happy to call Mississippi home!

How has living in Mississippi affected your identity and your life’s path?

Living in Mississippi has provided a sense of purpose and focus that I don’t think I would have found if I lived elsewhere. After graduating from USM, I started teaching high school at East Marion in Columbia, MS, and the way that teaching high school has captured my heart is one of the greatest surprises from my time in Mississippi. These students are so curious about the world and so full of life, and it is a joy to get to share in that with them.

It has also helped me connect more with what I want to do as a writer. It is often true that you cannot write about an experience while you are in it, and living in Mississippi has given me perspective on my time growing up in Nashville, even as I find ways to talk about what it means to live and grow in Mississippi, too.

What is something that you’ve learned about Mississippi only by living here?

I did not realize how multifaceted Mississippi truly is. This is true of most places, but from the outside looking in, we only get a caricature of what a place like Mississippi is like. Having lived here for almost ten years, I know there is a huge difference between the Delta and the coast, between living in Jackson and living in Hattiesburg. I also did not know about king cake before moving to Hattiesburg, and I am eternally grateful to have learned about it.

Todd’s debut collection of poetry, Gatherer (Belle Point Press), will be published on April 9. Pre-order now.

In what ways has Mississippi lived up to your expectations?

Expectations are such a tricky thing, but in a lot of ways Mississippi has upended my expectations. The first fall I moved here, there was a group of people who were protesting the USM’s president’s choice to remove the old Mississippi state flag. Every Sunday, they would sit outside the main entrance to campus with their Confederate symbols, protesting the president’s decision and generally making a fuss, and the thing that brought me the most joy was seeing that my students, for the most part, thought these protesters were wrong. The old mindsets, the old ways of seeing the world are dying out in Mississippi, but they will only continue to do so if we teach a new way forward.

Have you ever thought about moving away? Does a sense of duty keep you rooted here?  Do you have a “tipping point”?

I’ve thought about it, and certainly there are moments when it seems appealing, but mostly I am a firm believer that one should bloom where they are planted. For me and my family, that is right here in Mississippi. People like to complain about how things are, and I’ve always been of the mindset that you shouldn’t really complain about something unless you are dedicated to changing it. I love to complain, but I also want to leave where I am better than it was when I arrived. 

What do you wish the rest of the country understood about Mississippi?

Would love for the rest of the country to recognize the impact that Mississippi artists and writers have had on the larger culture of the United States. But in a broader sense, I wish people understood that Mississippi is not the way it is by choice. Gerrymandering, a history of racial oppression, and a lack of access to the basic necessities of a functioning democracy have created the Mississippi that we see today, but it does not have to be that way. Change is possible.

Left: Todd as a baby. Right: Todd and his sister Mo.

Do you have a favorite Mississippi writer, artist, or musician who you think everyone needs to know about?

Angela Ball and Adam Clay are two titans of Mississippi poetry, who also happen to be two of the best people I got to know during my time at USM. I also want to shout out Olivia Clare and her lovely novel Here Lies. I don’t think your readers need to be introduced to Katy Simpson Smith, but please let me echo what great work she is doing. I would also love to shout out the poet C.T. Salazar, who is so good at writing the kind of poems that make me glad to be a poet.

If you had one billion dollars to invest in Mississippi, how would you spend your money?

Infrastructure, first and foremost. Fully funding our public education and giving teachers a pay raise. More money for our university’s graduate students. Whatever is left can go to groups like MS Votes that are pushing to get out the vote and increase access to voting for all Mississippians.

What or who do you want to shamelessly promote? (It can absolutely be a project you’re working on, or something you are involved in.)

My debut poetry collection, Gatherer, is being published on April 9th from Belle Point Press! Please check it out if you like, and check out Belle Point Press for even more great literature from the Mid/South region. 

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Todd Osborne is a poet and teacher. His debut poetry collection, Gatherer, is out now from Belle Point Press. He is a feedback editor for Tinderbox Poetry and a poetry reader for Memorious. His poetry has been previously published at CutBank, The Missouri Review, Tar River Poetry, EcoTheo Review, and elsewhere. He lives and writes in Hattiesburg, MS, with his wife and their three cats.