Mississippi Delta

JACKSON, Miss. - Sam Carr, a drummer who was considered an anchor in the blues scene that continues to draw fans to the poverty-stricken Delta region where the music form was born, died Monday of congestive heart failure. He was 83. Mr. Carr had a reputation as one of the best blues drummers in the country, but he made his living in the Mississippi Delta, where he was raised. At one time or another, Mr. Carr had backed such big names as Sonny Boy Williamson II and Buddy Guy. Mr. Carr had received multiple honors, including the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts...

NEW YORK - Lewis Nordan, a Mississippi-born writer whose fiction conjures up a dreamlike world that straddles the whisker-thin margin between a legend and a lie, but whose best-known novel was based on a historical killing of national import, died Friday in Cleveland. He was 72. The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his wife, Alicia. Mr. Nordan, who did not begin writing until he was in his mid-30s and did not publish his first book until he was in his mid-40s, was the author of four novels, three volumes of short stories, and a memoir, "Boy With Loaded Gun" (2000)

RENA LARA, Miss. — Flood waters from the bloated Mississippi River and its tributaries spilled across farm fields, cut off churches, washed over roads, and forced people from their homes yesterday in the Mississippi Delta, a poverty-stricken region only a generation or two removed from sharecropping days. People used boats to navigate flooded streets as the crest rolled slowly downstream, bringing misery to poor, low-lying communities. Hundreds have left their homes in the Delta in the past several days as the water rose toward some of the highest levels on record.

RENA LARA, Miss. — Flood waters from the bloated Mississippi River and its tributaries spilled across farm fields, cut off churches, washed over roads, and forced people from their homes yesterday in the Mississippi Delta, a poverty-stricken region only a generation or two removed from sharecropping days. People used boats to navigate flooded streets as the crest rolled slowly downstream, bringing misery to poor, low-lying communities. Hundreds have left their homes in the Delta in the past several days as the water rose toward some of the highest levels on record.

JACKSON, Miss. -- In a chronically poor state that ranks near the bottom in nearly every educational category, a businessman is making Mississippi legislators a $50 million offer he hopes they cannot refuse. Jim Barksdale, the former Netscape CEO, has promised to reward some students with as much as $10,000 each if lawmakers agree to three conditions for the next fiscal year: fully fund education, give teachers a raise, and approve an annual audit of how federal money for child care is spent.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Bill Clinton of Arkansas, a Democrat, jumped from the governorship of a poor Southern state to the presidency in 1992. Now, some Republicans seem to be suggesting that Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour, could follow suit in 2008. Barbour, 57, a Washington lobbyist and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, says he has no plans to run. But he isn't ruling out the possibility. "Well, I could lose 50 pounds. I might even grow four inches.

JACKSON, Miss. - The mystery surrounding bluesman Robert Johnson’s life and death feeds the lingering fascination with his work. There’s the myth he sold his soul to the devil to create his haunting guitar intonations. There’s the dispute over where he died after his alleged poisoning by a jealous man in 1938. Three different markers claim to be the site of his demise. His birthplace, however, has been verified. The seminal bluesman came into the world in 1911 in a well-crafted home built by his stepfather in the Mississippi town of...

Capping off this year's African American Theatre Festival (the seventh) will be a poetry competition for young adults. With any luck, a handful will someday find their voices as vividly as did Endesha Ida Mae Holland (1944-2006), whose extraordinary life unfurls in the course of her 1987 memoir play, "From the Mississippi Delta," now being staged at the festival. In a series of vignettes in "Delta," we see Holland progress from an innocent, dirt-poor but joyful child into an 11-year-old rape victim, a teenage prostitute, a civil rights activist, and ultimately a...

NEW YORK - Lewis Nordan, a Mississippi-born writer whose fiction conjures up a dreamlike world that straddles the whisker-thin margin between a legend and a lie, but whose best-known novel was based on a historical killing of national import, died Friday in Cleveland. He was 72. The cause was complications of pneumonia, said his wife, Alicia. Mr. Nordan, who did not begin writing until he was in his mid-30s and did not publish his first book until he was in his mid-40s, was the author of four novels, three volumes of short stories, and a...

TUNICA, Miss. — The bulging Mississippi River rolled into the fertile Mississippi Delta yesterday, threatening to swamp antebellum mansions, wash away shotgun shacks, and destroy fields of cotton, rice, and corn in a flood of historic proportions. The river took aim at one of the most poverty-stricken parts of the country after cresting before daybreak at Memphis just inches short of the record set in 1937. Some low-lying neighborhoods were inundated, but the city’s high levees protected much of the rest of the city.

TUNICA, Miss. — The bulging Mississippi River rolled into the fertile Mississippi Delta yesterday, threatening to swamp antebellum mansions, wash away shotgun shacks, and destroy fields of cotton, rice, and corn in a flood of historic proportions. The river took aim at one of the most poverty-stricken parts of the country after cresting before daybreak at Memphis just inches short of the record set in 1937. Some low-lying neighborhoods were inundated, but the city’s high levees protected much of the rest of the city.

JACKSON, Miss. - The mystery surrounding bluesman Robert Johnson’s life and death feeds the lingering fascination with his work. There’s the myth he sold his soul to the devil to create his haunting guitar intonations. There’s the dispute over where he died after his alleged poisoning by a jealous man in 1938. Three different markers claim to be the site of his demise. His birthplace, however, has been verified. The seminal bluesman came into the world in 1911 in a well-crafted home built by his stepfather...

JACKSON, Miss. - Sam Carr, a drummer who was considered an anchor in the blues scene that continues to draw fans to the poverty-stricken Delta region where the music form was born, died Monday of congestive heart failure. He was 83. Mr. Carr had a reputation as one of the best blues drummers in the country, but he made his living in the Mississippi Delta, where he was raised. At one time or another, Mr. Carr had backed such big names as Sonny Boy Williamson II and Buddy Guy. Mr. Carr had received multiple honors, including the Governor’s Award...

Capping off this year's African American Theatre Festival (the seventh) will be a poetry competition for young adults. With any luck, a handful will someday find their voices as vividly as did Endesha Ida Mae Holland (1944-2006), whose extraordinary life unfurls in the course of her 1987 memoir play, "From the Mississippi Delta," now being staged at the festival. In a series of vignettes in "Delta," we see Holland progress from an innocent, dirt-poor but joyful child into an 11-year-old rape victim, a teenage prostitute, a civil rights activist, and ultimately a proud college...

WASHINGTON -- While casting a nervous eye at Hurricane Wilma, federal and state officials reported yesterday that the latest pollution data in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina indicated for the first time that the Mississippi Delta is a safe place to swim. "This is encouraging for recreational uses, but the data should not be used for assessing the safety of consuming shellfish," Benjamin Grumbles, head of the Environmental Protection Agency's water office, told reporters. Environmental and health officials had previously recommended that...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Bill Clinton of Arkansas, a Democrat, jumped from the governorship of a poor Southern state to the presidency in 1992. Now, some Republicans seem to be suggesting that Mississippi's governor, Haley Barbour, could follow suit in 2008. Barbour, 57, a Washington lobbyist and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, says he has no plans to run. But he isn't ruling out the possibility. "Well, I could lose 50 pounds. I might even grow four inches.

GREENWOOD, Miss. -- Through most of the Mississippi Delta, cotton is king. In Greenwood, however, there's been a Viking invasion. Viking ranges, that is. While the town's two dominant industries coexist in an improbable tourism blend, there's no doubt as to which one rules. Most visitors come to Greenwood because of the Viking Range Corp.; its brand new luxury hotel, the Alluvian; or both. The shift in the city's economy can be seen in Viking's occupation of the buildings on Cotton Row. The company has annexed all but one of the historic buildings along the Yazoo River, which once sent countless bales to Vicksburg...

WASHINGTON -- While casting a nervous eye at Hurricane Wilma, federal and state officials reported yesterday that the latest pollution data in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina indicated for the first time that the Mississippi Delta is a safe place to swim. "This is encouraging for recreational uses, but the data should not be used for assessing the safety of consuming shellfish," Benjamin Grumbles, head of the Environmental Protection Agency's water office, told reporters. Environmental and health officials had previously...

JACKSON, Miss. -- In a chronically poor state that ranks near the bottom in nearly every educational category, a businessman is making Mississippi legislators a $50 million offer he hopes they cannot refuse. Jim Barksdale, the former Netscape CEO, has promised to reward some students with as much as $10,000 each if lawmakers agree to three conditions for the next fiscal year: fully fund education, give teachers a raise, and approve an annual audit of how federal money for child care is spent.

GREENWOOD, Miss. -- Through most of the Mississippi Delta, cotton is king. In Greenwood, however, there's been a Viking invasion. Viking ranges, that is. While the town's two dominant industries coexist in an improbable tourism blend, there's no doubt as to which one rules. Most visitors come to Greenwood because of the Viking Range Corp.; its brand new luxury hotel, the Alluvian; or both. The shift in the city's economy can be seen in Viking's occupation of the buildings on Cotton Row. The company has annexed all but one of the historic buildings along the Yazoo River, which once sent countless...