MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Representative Whittington, Capps, Mayo, Perkins, Stevens

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING ELIZABETH SPENCER FOR HER MANY OUTSTANDING LITERARY ACHIEVEMENTS.

WHEREAS, Ms. Elizabeth Spencer, a native of Carrollton, Mississippi, has been recognized for her many outstanding literary achievements; and

WHEREAS, after graduating from J.Z. George High School, Ms. Spencer attended Belhaven College, where she received her bachelor's degree, and Vanderbilt University, where she earned a master's degree; and

WHEREAS, in addition, Ms. Spencer has received numerous honorary degrees from several outstanding institutions of higher learning including Rhodes, formerly Southwestern University in Memphis, Tennessee; Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec; University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Spencer's long and distinguished career includes nine novels: Fire in the Morning, This Crooked Way, The Voice at the Back Door, The Light in the Piazza, Knights and Dragons, No Place for an Angel, The Snare, The Salt Line, The Night Travellers; and

WHEREAS, in addition, Ms. Spencer has several short story collections such as: Ship Island and Other Stories, The Stories of Elizabeth Spencer, Jack of Diamonds and Other Stories, Marilee, On the Gulf and The Light in Piazza and Other Italian Tales; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Spencer has also written a nonfiction book entitled Landscapes of the Heart and a drama, For Lease or Sale; and

WHEREAS, throughout her long and distinguished career, Ms. Spencer has received numerous honors and awards including the Recognition Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, Kenyon Review Fiction Fellowship, First Rosenthal Award from the American Academy, McGraw-Hill Fiction Fellowship, Bellaman Award, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Salem Award for Distinction in Letters from Salem College, John Dos Passos Award for Literature, the 1999 Mississippi State Library Association Award for nonfiction and many others; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend excellence, especially when evidenced by the hard work and dedication of Ms. Spencer to her writing career:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend Ms. Elizabeth Spencer for her many outstanding literary achievements and express our heartiest wishes for continued success in all her future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Ms. Elizabeth Spencer and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.