As part of our America 250th celebration, The Thacker Mountain Radio Hour had the honor of recording a show at the Eudora Welty House & Garden in Jackson, MS.
The museum is located at 1119 Pinehurst St, Jackson, MS. The author lived here for nearly 70 years and the staff does admirable job of preserving and showcasing Welty’s work including her collection of typewriters. (Host Jim Dees takes in their pristine condition despite assumed heavy use).
and a “worn path” through her garden…
Special Thanks: Red Panther Brewing Co., Lemuria Books, Primos Café & Bake Shop.
**Thanks to Nancy Carpenter and America 250 – Mississippi and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History!**
Guests for the show:
Former Mississippi Poet Laureate Beth Ann Fennelly with her latest book, The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs 
with musical guests, the Soul City Swingers – Soul/jazz from Jackson!
Tyler Kemp (organ), Denny Burkes (drums), Terry Miller (trumpet) and Judson Wright (tenor saxophone)
and very special guest…
Lady Adrena – fresh off Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues tour!
The show is hosted by Jim Dees with our house band, Paul Tate and the Yalobushwhackers.
Tune it in, crank it up!
Thursday, July 9 – 8 am (CT) WYXR 91.7 FM Memphis, TN.
Thursday, July 9– 6 pm (CT) WUMS 92.1 University of Mississippi
Saturday, July 11
5 pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting
9 pm (CT) Alabama Public Radio
Sunday, July12
2 pm (ET) WUTC 88.1 FM Chattanooga, TN
3 pm (ET) WUOT | 91.9 FM, Knoxville
2 pm (MT) KNCE 93.5 | Taos, New Mexico
6 pm (CT) Mississippi Public Broadcasting
One month archive: Thacker Mountain Radio Hour / WYXR 91.7 FM Memphis, TN.
Beth Ann Fennelly, (Mississippi Poet Laureate 2016-2021) has released her seventh book, The Irish Goodbye – Micro-Memoirs (Norton).
The essays, indeed “micro” – some a paragraph, a page or page and a half – explore family, marriage, motherhood, place, grief and coming of age, all with Fennelly’s wit and emotional clarity.
The book was a March 2026 Indie Next List pick.
“…sparkles with understated delight.”- Kirkus Reviews
Fennelly’s work has won a Pushcart Prize and three times been included in The Best American Poetry Series.
Fennelly has published three poetry books: Open House, Tender Hooks, and Unmentionables, and a book of nonfiction, Great with Child, all published with W. W. Norton.
A novel she co-authored with her husband, Tom Franklin, called The Tilted World, was published by HarperCollins.
Her sixth book, Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs (W. W. Norton), was named an Atlanta Journal Constitution Best Book, a Goodreaders Favorite for 2017, and the winner of the Housatonic Book Prize.
Fennelly and Franklin live in Oxford with their three children.
Fennelly teaches in the MFA Program at the University of Mississippi where she is a four-time teaching award winner.
The Soul City Swingers are a funky horn and organ soul quartet hailing from Jackson, Mississippi.
The group includes members of the Soul City 3, Tyler Kemp (organ), Denny Burkes (drums), Terry Miller (trumpet) and Judson Wright (tenor saxophone).
The group’s debut album (we’re told it’s a burner!) is forthcoming.
Lady Adrena is a singer-songwriter from Jackson, MS who is a multi-nominee at this year’s (2026) Jackson Music Awards, including Blues Artist of the Year.
She is a former Female Vocalist of the Year winner.
Among her projects, she is currently touring the country (world?) with Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience including a recent appearance with the great Taj Mahal.
Her album is Recipe for the Blues (Sweet Success Records).
It includes the memorable single, No Ring No Thang.
