Foundations Spring 2022

Creative writing can take many different forms. It can be a poem, short story or full-length novel, fiction or nonfiction. But it can also be a comic book, a screenplay or a personal essay. Creative writing is storytelling. For Thomas “Price” Caldwell Jr., it was his legacy.

The Tutwiler native graduated from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, with a degree in English in 1962 before attending Tulane University for his master’s and Ph.D. in English in 1964 and 1969, respectively. Price influenced countless students as he taught in universities around the world, eventually landing at Mississippi State University, where he spent half of his four-decade-long career.

For 20 years, Price served as an instructor and associate professor of English at MSU. He wrote poems, short stories, articles, essays and other literary works over the years; however, the most influential legacy he left was the creative writing program he brought to life in the Department of English at Mississippi State.

“Creative writing can take a reader anywhere in the world,” said his daughter Delia. “It's accessible to anyone who wants exposure to interesting subjects and experience lives and places different from their own.”

Price passed away in February of 2015 at the age of 74. His wife Alice Carol and their children Delia and Michael created the Price Caldwell Visiting Writers Series Endowment at MSU to remember and carry on his legacy. Each semester, the endowment hosts a visiting writer to perform a public reading on campus and engage with students in the classroom. The endowment enables a diverse range of experienced and talented writers to interact with MSU students of all majors, while exploring different disciplines of creative writing.

Caldwell teaching at Meisei University in Japan.

“Dad always was a proponent that a liberal arts education was just as important as a science or engineering degree,” said Delia. “He believed that a liberal arts foundation can help you make it through the world as a human being and give you purposeful experiences with others. This series helps give students a perspective on the world.”

Michael, a 1995 philosophy graduate ofMSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, remembers that it was common to have guests at the house for parties or dinner and there was always talk about books.

“Dad was the president of theSouthern Literary Festival that hosted weekends of public readings,” he said. “The events always involved a big party that was held at our home. It helped me realize that writers are people just like us, and we all have a story to tell.”

Alice Carol is proud to uphold her husband’s legacy and believes he wouldn’t be surprised that his family chose to remember and honor him this way.

“This series allows for students to meet real writers,” said Alice Carol. “MSU has great people in charge of this program who care about the students. They created a format that allows students to hear the writers, read and feel thewriters’ dedication and motivation, and learn their methods and what made them successful. I think that’s exactly what Price would’ve wanted.”

Upon establishment of the program in 2015, Brad Watson, a former student of Price, was chosen to serve as the inaugural visiting writer. Watson was a 1978 MSU English graduate and native of Meridian. The Caldwells were proud to start the series with someone who had a visible connection to Price and his work. Watson, who passed away in July of 2020, was a multiaward-winning author of short stories and novels like “Last Days of the Dog-Men" and “Miss Jane.”

Throughout their lives, Price and Alice Carol traveled and lived around the world, experiencing different cultures and learning from what they have to offer. From 1988–1989, Price was offered an exchange professorship opportunity to teach at the Meisei University and through that experience, he also taught at Waseda University, both located in Tokyo. Alice Carol taught music for more than 30 years in Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana and North Carolina. They lived by a motto that Alice Carol’s father instilled in her—“spend your money and sleep in the street.”

Price and Alice Carol Caldwell (center) with their family: children Delia and Michael and grandsons Thomas and Pierce.

“I grew up with the concept that you save your money to take care of others,” she said. “My earliest memory of that concept is when I learned that my father paid for school lunches for students who could not afford it, and he did it anonymously. He arranged it through each student’s teacher. He told me that you should always help someone who could not help themselves. This endowment does that and more. We're fostering a new generation of creative writers by allowing them to have firsthand experiences that they may not get anywhere else. I’ve carried my daddy’s message with me throughout my life by being open-minded and giving back to those in need.”

Like the rest of the world, the series quickly pivoted from in-person meetings to online sessions during the pandemic. The Caldwell family saw this as an excellent opportunity to expand the series and connect with writers and students who may not attend live meetings. Delia noted that while the pandemic did put a damper on a lot of activities, it did bring a unique way for the series to reach a greater audience.

Today, Michael Kardos and Catherine Pierce co-direct MSU’s creative writing program. The husband-and-wife team brings to the program an all-encompassing education for students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. They are thankful to the Caldwells for their dedication to Price's memory and the MSU creative writing program.

“As a professor, Price Caldwell inspired countless students and left a legacy of kindness and generosity,” said Kardos. “We all learned from him, students and faculty alike, and the Price Caldwell Visiting Writers Series is the perfect way for Dr. Caldwell and his family to keep inspiring students, as well as the campus and Starkville communities. The series brings visiting writers who are not only fantastic writers but who are generous with their time and talents. Besides reading, they meet with students, dine with them and answer questions about their work, publishing and the writer's life. We're so grateful to the Caldwell family.”

The Caldwells are excited to see how the endowed series will continue to grow and connect students to writers over time. They also hope that the program will expand to include different avenues of storytelling such as anime, comics and other forms of expression and delivery. But ultimately, they are happy seeing Price’s influence continue in these students.

“We need good writers who can connect to others in different formats,” said Alice Carol. “Everyone needs to be able to write. Our family is excited to see Price’s legacy continued through this series, see the students grow and see these writers’ first-hand effects on the students.”

STORY ASHLEIGH LEE

PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMITTED AND OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS