Conversations with Ellen Gilchrist

Known for her short stories populated by a recurring cast of headstrong, honest, and sometimes outrageous Southern women characters, Ellen Gilchrist’s (1935-2024) four decades of writing and twenty-six works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry solidly place her among the South’s most enduring authors.

After winning a National Book Award in 1984 for the short story collection Victory Over Japan, she was a weekly commentator on NPR’s then-new Morning Edition. While she wrote six critically acclaimed novels, short stories were where she was truly at home, especially those featuring Rhoda Manning, her most famous and most autobiographical character. Of Rhoda, Gilchrist said, ＂I can feel Rhoda. Of all my women characters or female characters, Rhoda’s the one that I can feel and smell and touch. I can see things through her eyes.＂

The eighteen interviews featured in this collection reveal Gilchrist to be just as honest, and sometimes outrageous, as her characters. Whether she is discussing her work or her life, Gilchrist’s excitement and zest for life comes through in every word.

Tracy Carr is a researcher, editor, and writer in Jackson, Mississippi. She holds advanced degrees in English and library science and serves on the board of the Mississippi Book Festival.