Listening to the Mississippi Pictures of O.N. Pruitt
Document Type
Video
Publication Date
8-23-2022
Abstract
William Carlos Williams in 1938 reviewed a photographic exhibition of Walker Evans at the Museum of Modern Art, writing: “The pictures talk to us. And they say plenty.” Likewise, the photographs of O.N. Pruitt (1891-1967) talk to us—and say plenty. Originating in the Jim Crow era from Columbus, Mississippi, they offer a vehicle to consider the vexing interrelations of photography, community, culture, race, and historical memory. During this SouthTalk, Columbus, Mississippi-native and author of O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Photographing Trouble and Resilience in the American South, Berkeley Hudson will share some of Pruitt’s photography and reflect on some of the images and themes captured.
Berkley Hudson is an associate professor emeritus of the Missouri School of Journalism. For twenty-five years, including at the Los Angeles Times, he worked as a journalist. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi where he majored in history and journalism. Later, he received a master’s from Columbia University and a doctorate from UNC Chapel Hill. He was born in Columbus, Mississippi, and lives in Chapel Hill, NC.
Relational Format
video recording
Recommended Citation
Hudson, Berkley and Wharton, David, "Listening to the Mississippi Pictures of O.N. Pruitt" (2022). SouthTalks. 2.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/southtalks/2