150 line up for Ferris’ book-signing

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Vicksburg native, professor and author Bill Ferris was greeted by 150 friends old and new Monday evening as he made a homecoming visit to give a reading from his latest book, “Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues,” and sign copies.

“It means so much to me to sign for old friends whom I’ve known all of my life, and friends of my parents as well,” said Ferris, whose study of American music began at the churches and night spots near his family’s Fisher Ferry Road farm, about 15 miles south of Vicksburg.

Monday’s event in the auditorium at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center featured blues duo Osgood & Blaque, a gallery-style display of black and white photos from Ferris’ book and a theatrical reading of passages in the book by Cherri Burks.

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Among those who came out to support Ferris were several members of his immediate and extended family, including his 91-year-old mother, Shelby Flowers Ferris, who her son said, “loves the blues and started me on this journey.”

Ferris recalled how he made his first field recordings at a small church on the Ferris farm called Rose Hill, where he became familiar with traditional spirituals and hymns. Ferris attended high school and college on the East Coast, but returned to Mississippi regularly during the summers and holidays in the 1960s and ’70s to record black sharecroppers, musicians, preachers and prisoners.

Ferris’ book is a compilation of that fieldwork. It features interview transcripts with blues legends such as Vicksburg-native Willie Dixon and B.B. King, as well as many other lesser-known regional artists such as James “Son” Thomas. The book comes with a CD of some of the original recordings made on a battery-powered reel-to-reel recorder and a DVD of footage he captured on a Sony Super 8 camera.

Though Monday’s event was not advertised to begin until 4 p.m., SCHC Executive Director Annette Kirklin said so many people had shown up early that Ferris was busy signing books by 3:30. Following an hourlong presentation of selections from the book, the author was back at the signing table with a long line formed behind him.

“I love Bill. He’s incredible,” said Doug Hassell of Vicksburg, who’s known Ferris for 30 years and had three copies of his book signed. “He’s a tremendous asset to our community. He’s an ambassador for Vicksburg all over the world, and it’s good to see Vicksburg come out and support him.”

Longtime family friend Linda Ann Headley waited in line to greet Ferris with five of his books stacked in her arms.

“I’m very excited to read the book; I’m so proud of him,” said Headley, who added Ferris’ love of the blues has long been legendary among his friends and family. “If you ever talk to him, you find that out very quickly.”

Ferris lives in North Carolina, where he is senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a professor of history and an adjunct professor in the folklore curriculum. He was selected by President Bill Clinton in 1997 to direct the National Endowment for the Humanities, a position he held through 2001.

Ferris was a developer of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi and a co-editor of the “Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.” He is the author of 10 books, including “Blues From The Delta,” published in 1970.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com