#thisisnpr

The heart and soul of Oxford

We were truly blessed by the kindness of old friends and strangers during our visit to Oxford, Mississippi. Each city we visit presents a new and exciting mystery... Where are we going to stay? What types of food are we going to stumble upon? What trails can we go running on and explore? How are we going to meet the young people driving the spirit and passion of this city?

Erin Austen Abbott was our chief partner in co-curating the people and the evening that we created at Rowan Oak for our listening party. Erin is the founder of an Oxford boutique called Amelia, a place where the new wave of craft culture meets art & design. Only 187-square-feet in size, the shelves and cases in Amelia are carefully stacked with handmade crafts, housewares, jewelry and stationary, harkening back to a time where nothing was produced in mass quantities. A time where you had to really search for the treasures that you wanted.

In Oxford we were also adopted by the most incredible young couple who gifted us warm meals and a beautiful place to stay. Nathan is a fine artist and painter, and Blake is a choreographer and trained dancer. Together they are extraordinarily generous, kind and wise. They’re stories are filled with courage. Their art (whether on a canvas or a stage) is filled with equal parts struggle and triumph. It’s kind of like the public radio stories that we love so much...a vehicle for understanding someone else’s perspective and the shoes that they walk in.