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In this episode, we speak with Dr. Julia Brock from the University of Alabama and Dr. Stephanie Chalifoux from the University of West Georgia about their ongoing work at the Lillian E. Smith Center. Over the past few years, they have come to the center to catalogue the items at the center. This includes everything from books to silverware. We spoke with them about their work, Lillian's siblings, and much more. Dr. Brock mentioned finding a SNCC pin at the camp. It wasn't a SNCC pin; rather, it was a CORE (Conference of Racial Equality) pin.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Jennifer Morrison, Assistant Professor of English at Xavier University where she teaches African American literature and other courses. We spoke with her about the importance of Lillian Smith, connections between Smith and Ernest Gaines, the importance of libraries, and much more.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Michael Bibler, Robert Peen Warren Distinguished Associate Professor at Louisiana State University. Recently, he taught a course at LSU entitled "Baldwin's Queer South," and students read Lillian Smith alongside Baldwin and other authors. We spoke with him about the intersections between Lillian Smith and James Baldwin, his recent course, and much more.

In this episode, we speak with Piedmont University students Julia DeMello and Montana Thomas. Julia and Montana were part of the chorus for the world premier performance of "How Am I to Be Heard?" and oratorio based on the life and work of Lillian E. Smith. In this episode, we speak with them about raking part in the oratorio, what they learned about Lillian E. Smith, and more. https://www.piedmont.edu/calendar_event/world-premiere-how-am-i-to-be-heard/

In this episode, we speak with speaking with L.J. Harrison. He marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s, after graduating from college, he taught history in Stephens County and elsewhere, and he served for five years on the Toccoa City Commission for five years and as mayor of Toccoa. We spoke with him about the movement, the importance of teaching history, and Lillian Smith.

In this episode we speak with Siân Round, a PhD candidate in American literature at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses, as she puts it, on “little literary magazines in the US South in the 1920s and mid-40s and their relationship to the . . . Southern Renaissance.” As such, she has delved into Lillian Smith and Paula Snelling’s work on South Today, specifically looking at how the magazine traces Smith’s artistic trajectory in the lead up to the 1944 publication of Strange Fruit. We spoke with her about South Today, reading Smith and Snelling in England, and her research.

In this episode, we speak with Joan Browning. She was one of the white southern women who participated in the Freedom Rides in 1961. She took part in the final ride from Atlanta to Albany in December 1961. We spoke with her about her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, her introduction to Lillian Smith's work, and much more.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Tanya Long Bennett. She is a professor of English at the University of North Georgia and the author of “I Have Been So Many People”: A Study of Lee Smith’s Novels. Recently, she returned from a Fulbright in Romania where she taught American Studies at the the University of Bucharest. She is the editor of Critical Essays on the Writing of Lillian Smith, and she teaches Smith regularly in her courses. Adrian Mîță, one of Dr. Bennett's students at the University of Bucharest. We spoke with them about teaching and reading Smith in Romania, Smith’s artistry, and more.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Keri Leigh Merritt. She is a historian who focuses on issues of equality and poverty in America. Her book, "Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery is the Antebellum South" won the 2018 Bennett H. Wall Award from the Southern Historical Association. Along with Dr. Matthew Hild, she edited "Reconsidering Southern Labor History: Race, Class, and Power" the 2019 Best Book Awards winner from the United Association for Labor Education. She hosts the podcast Merrittocracy, and she is currently working on a Civil War documentary and a project on Lillian Smith. We speak with her about history, class, race, and Lillian Smith.

In this episode we speak with Julie Cohen, co-director, with Betsy West, of 2021’s "My Name is Pauli Murray" and Dr. Patricia Bell-Scott, professor emerita of women’s studies and human development and family science at the University of Georgia. She appears in "My Name is Pauli Murray" as well as Hal and Henry Jacobs’ "Lillian Smith: Breaking the Science." We discuss the importance of Pauli Murray, her friendship with Lillian Smith, and more.

In this episode of "Dope with Lime," we talk about an anecdote from Lillian Smith's "Memory of a Large Christmas" (1962) where Smith's father invited 48 incarcerated men to eat Christmas dinner with his family. You can read the article in the latest issue of the LES Center's newsletter, "A View from the Mountain": https://issuu.com/piedmontjournal/docs/les_newsletter_f21_issuu To donate to the LES Center, you can do so here: https://www2.piedmont.edu/giving-les-center

In this episode, we speak with one of the first Lillian E. Smith Scholars, Emily Pierce. We discuss how she became an LES scholar, the impact that Smith has had on her thinking, and what she took away from the program.

In this episode, we speak with Anna Weinstein, Assistant Professor of Screenwriting at Kennesaw State University. She is editor for Rutledge's Perform Book series. She is currently working on an adaptation of Richard Chase's "The Jack Tales." She is also developing a limited series based on the life of Lillian Smith. We spoke about her residency experiences at the LES Center and her current project which focuses on Smith.

In this episode of "Dope with Lime," we discuss Lillian Smith's time as director of Laurel Falls Camp for Girls, the first first private camp for girls in Georgia. Her father started the camp in 1920, and Smith ran it from 1925 to 1948. If you or someone you know went to the camp, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at lescenter@piedmont.edu

In this episode, we speak with two recent Lillian E. Smith Scholars, Madison Hatfield and Mike Adams. We discuss how they became LES scholars, the impact that Smith has had on their thinking, and what they took away from the program.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Will Brantley, Professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University. His book, "Feminine Sense in Southern Memoir" won the Eudora Welty award for interpretive work of scholarship in modern letters. In "Feminine Sense," Dr. Brantley looks at the autobiographic works of Lillian Smith, Zora Neal Hurston, Eudora Welty, Ellen Glasgow, Lillian Hellman, and Katherine Ann Porter. As well, he has written on the FBI’s 134-page file that they kept on Lillian Smith and her activities. Today, we will speak with him about that file and its importance in our understanding of Smith’s life and work.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Melanie Morrison. She is the founder and Executive Director of Allies for Change, “a network of anti-oppression educators who share a passion for social justice and a commitment to creating and sustaining life-giving all relationships and communities.” Currently, she is working on a manuscript entitled Letters from Old Screamer Mountain. Her mother, Eleanor, along with some friends stayed a weekend with Lillian Smith on Old Screamer Mountain in 1939, and that weekend “was an unforgettable turning point” in the eighteen-year old’s life. Dr. Morrison’s manuscript contains letters that she penned to her mother when she made a pilgrimage to the Lillian E. Smith Center for a residency in 2012. Today, we will talk about Allies for Change, the impact of Lillian Smith on Dr. Morrison and her mother, and more.

In this preview, Melanie Morrison talks about what her father said about Lillian Smith and her impact on her parents' lives.

In this episode, we speak with Sho Baraka. He is a rapper, activist, writer, husband, father, and more. We talk about art, creativity, and his book "He Saw That It Was Good." Sho Baraka has spent years traveling the world as a recording artist, performer and culture curator. He is well as an original member of internationally known hip-hop consortium 116 Clique and record label, Reach Records. His overseas work has ranged from leading seminars about race relations in South Africa to establishing artist hubs in Indonesia. He is a co-founder of Forth District and The And Campaign. He also taught a class at Wake Forest School of Divinity.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Monica Miller. She is an assistant professor of English at Middle Georgia State University. We talk about teaching Lillian Smith to adult learners, Smith's place within the Southern literary canon, Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," and much more. Dr. Miller is the president of the Flannery O’Connor Society and serves on the editorial advisory board for the Flannery O’Connor Review. Her book, Being Ugly: Southern Women Writers and Social Rebellion, explores the ways that Southern women writers such as Margaret Mitchell and Monique Truong “employ ‘ugly’ characters to upend the expectations of patriarchy and open up more possibilities for southern female identity.”