Tishomingo Arts Council is recognizing the literary and educational contributions of Dr. Emory D. Jones, of Iuka, by naming its fall writing competition in his honor. The annual contest, formerly known as the TAC Fall Writing Competition, will become known as the Emory D. Jones Literary Competition.

“Dr. Jones has had a marked impact on so many young writers in our area throughout his years teaching in the English department at Northeast,” says TAC Secretary Rachel Embrey. “He has always been an encourager. I can happen to meet him out somewhere, and he will reference a poem I wrote years ago as a student of his. That means so much.”

For his part, Jones cites the opportunity he has had to influence young lives as the most rewarding aspect of his career as an English teacher.

The Ole Miss-educated Jones earned undergraduate degrees in history and English but went on to concentrate solely on English for his masters and doctorate. Afterwards, he taught in Alabama at Cherokee Vocational High School, Northeast Alabama State Junior College, and Snead State Junior College before moving on to Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Mississippi. He retired from Northeast after teaching English there for thirty-six years. He lives in Iuka with his wife, Glenda, and they have two daughters and four grandchildren. 

In addition to education, Jones has had another long-time love—poetry. “I wrote my first poem when I was ten years old,” he says. “I echo what Carson McCullers said, ‘I write stories for the same reason that I smoke cigarettes—not because it gives me pleasure, but because not to would cause pain.’ I have over seven hundred poetical credits now because I am compelled to write poems.”

Jones’s work has been featured in numerous print and online publications including Deep South Magazine, Delta Poetry Review, Modern Poetry Quarterly Review, Encore: Journal of the NFSPS, MockingHeart Review, American Poetry, Scarlet Leaf Review, and The Cumberland River Review.

No stranger to literary competitions, Jones says his proudest moments have come from his service to the Mississippi Poetry Society, having served numerous times as contest coordinator and twice as president, and to the National Federation of State Poetry Societies for which he served as competition coordinator in 2017. 

The Tishomingo Arts Council competition that will now bear Jones’s name is entering its third year. The submission period for the 2022 Emory D. Jones Literary Competition will run from September 1 through November 30, with winners being announced in mid-December. The contest features awards in youth and adult categories for poetry and prose and is open to writers from any locale. Visit the Tishomingo Arts Council Facebook page for full competition details.