Southaven poet William Hill arrived at writing later in life. 

For nearly 40 years, Hill, who is dyslexic, said fear and judgment from teachers and other figures in his life discouraged him from pursuing many things, especially writing. “Because of my dyslexia, I didn’t do anything until I was older,” said the 74-year-old. 

“I finally figured out that what people said didn’t matter,” Hill said with a chuckle. 

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Now, as a member of the Mississippi Poetry Society, Hill is preparing to represent the Magnolia State at the BlackBerry Peach National Poetry Slam hosted by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies Association in West Des Moines, Iowa this week, June 21-23. 

“He is a dynamo,” said Janice Canerdy, president of the Mississippi Poetry Society. “He is so enthusiastic about supporting the arts, primarily poetry, and Bill is just a wonderful patron of the arts.”

Born in Tippah County, Mississippi, Hill “dabbled with writing and the idea of it” since he was a teenager, he said. He didn’t pursue it until his mid-30s when his college professor entered his descriptive essay about a Ripley, Mississippi pool hall in a contest by St. Martin’s Press and was subsequently published.

“That led me to believe that I might be able to do something, and I wrote a couple of more essays,” Hill recalled. Eventually, Hill would join the Byhalia Christian Writers group which encouraged him to explore writing poetry, he said. 

“One of the great things about writing poetry is the forcing words onto a page in the right way to meet a sonnet, or even a limerick, or anything, forces me to be able to get the words right in my head,” said Hill, who is also a founding board member of the Southaven Arts Council. 

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In 2021, Hill published his first book of poetry, “It’s Not Even Past,” through Liberations Publishing in West Point, Mississippi. Borrowing a line from a William Faulkner quote in its title, the book recounts Hill’s memories of growing up in North Mississippi where he was raised by his mother after his father’s death. 

“It sounds kind of trite, but I write what’s on my heart,” Hill said. His work ranges from a lyrical yet serious limerick about somebody who decries the COVID-19 pandemic as a “hoax,” to a poem about the Ripley Railroad built by William Clark Falkner, a Confederate colonel and slaveowner and the great-grandfather of William Faulkner. 

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Hill describes his writing style as the same way he paints. “I put paint on there until it looks like a flower,” Hill elaborated, laughing, before adding, “I’m not well-versed in technical aspects, but I am learning. I am growing.” 

A founding board member of the Midsouth Christian Writers Conference, Hill says his work is informed by his faith, pointing to his poem, “A New Standard,” which praises doing away with the Confederate emblem on Mississippi’s state flag. 

“I think our state having a symbol that’s inclusive and doesn’t have the historical baggage that the Confederate battle flag carried with it, yeah, I think that is a Christian position,” said Hill, who also serves as the conference’s chaplain. 

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Looking ahead to this week’s poetry slam, Hill admits some nervousness, however, he’s motivated to perform in hopes of attracting younger people to poetry. In an effort to encourage more people to explore poetry, Hill’s working with DeSoto County’s Coffee Central to host an open mic night sometime this summer. 

“We need to step up and do these things that’s gonna draw young people in, and performance poetry is where it’s at.”