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Though not a Mississippian, I lived there for a year, and "the Delta" to
a Mississippian is indeed that northwestern section of the state
characterized by rich soil, large plantations, and flat topography.
One of the best descriptions of the Delta comes from the Federal
Writers' Project Guide for the state.  "David Cohn has said that
the Delta 'begins in the lobby of the Peabody Hotel at Memphis and
ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg,' and this is possibly more exact
than to say it is a leaf-shaped plain lying in the northwestern part of the
State, with its greatest length 200 miles and its greatest width 85 miles.
For the native Mississippian long has accepted as fact that the
Delta is more than a distinct geographical unit--it is also a way
of life..."  The Delta is largely rural, heavily black, with great
wealth and grinding poverty.  The new Secretary of Agriculture, Mike
Espy, was Congressman from that District.
      --Alan Virta, Boise State University Library (Idaho)
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