28 BCALA NEWS Volume 41, Issue 3

Summer 2014

PHOTO: SOUTHERN BY NATURE COVER

Southern by Nature: Writings About Place

SUBMITTED BY MARCIA CROSS-BRISCOE FOUNDER, ALL STAR CONCEPTS RESEARCH & EDITING SERVICES

As she was one of my mentors, I was always aware of Janice Sikes Rogers’ interest and expertise in southern history. After over 35 years serving as a librarian with Atlanta’s Public Library, Sikes Rogers turns to compiling her poetry. I am pleased to have served as editor for this collection. Southern by Nature: Writings about Place explores many facets of southern living, from the integration of schools to the relationship of land to generations of family. The author has crafted poems and essays that celebrate the changing southern landscape and prompt us to explore what ‘‘being Southern” really means today. Special emphasis is placed on Mississippi where Sikes Rogers was born and raised. The writings give recognition to and show appreciation for the beauty and inspiration derived from a world that values the muscadine vine, the broad open landscape, and the neighbor next door.

Southern by Nature: Writings about Place by Janice White Sikes Rogers, © 2013. Paperback, illus., 57 pages, $11.95. ISBN 978-0-615-93309-2. Books may be ordered from All Star Concepts Research & Editing Services, Washington, DC, via invoicing through Paypal from the website http:// allstarconcepts94.com.