Teresa Nicholas

Teresa Nicholas was born and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi. After graduating from Swarthmore College with a degree in English Literature, she worked in book publishing in New York for twenty-five years. A freelance writer since 2002, she is a regular contributor to Delta magazine and has written for Mississippi magazine and NPR’s Opinion Page. She is also a travel writer for Fodor’s in Mexico and Guatemala. She lives in Yazoo City and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, with her husband, the writer Gerard Helferich. Buryin’ Daddy: Putting My Lebanese, Catholic, Southern Baptist Childhood to Rest is her first book. Find out more at http://www.teresanicholas.com.

Ten Things I Can’t Do Without

1. My wacky southern family and my rational Yankee husband
2. The books of Capote, Faulkner, Morris, Welty
3. Jaime Sabines reading his poem, “Tía Chofi”
4. Spring in Mississippi; winter in Mexico
5. The Spanish language; the English language
6. Old friends; new friends
7. Jalapeño peppers
8. Fried catfish and hush puppies from Clancy’s Restaurant in Yazoo City
9. The braying of the next-door neighbor’s donkey
10. My 35-year-old teddy bear