Beth Boswell Jacks and Sank Powe, Photo courtesy of Beth Boswell Jacks
Major Works
- Grit Guts and Baseball: The Story of Sank Powe, Edited and Told by Beth Boswell Jacks (1996)
Biography of Beth Boswell Jacks
by Aaron Smyser (SHS) 1999
Beth Boswell Jacks is a musician and former teacher of gifted classes who has taught in Oxford, Vicksburg, and Cleveland, Mississippi. Her love of writing and her interest in nurturing racial understanding inspired her to record the stories of her good friend and her son’s baseball coach, Coach Sank Powe, in the book Guts, Grits, and Baseball. Jacks has a B.A. in English from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as an M.Ed. from The University of Mississippi in Oxford. She has also been an instructor in the Delta State University Writing Lab. Currently, she lives in Cleveland, Mississippi. She and her husband have four children, two of whom are married. Jacks also has one grandchild and a Bassett hound.
Jacks is a full member of the SCBWI. Shorter works written by her have now been published or are bought and about to be published in sixteen different magazines and journals. In addition, Beth Jacks writes a syndicated personal essay/humor newspaper column titled Snippets, which she describes as an attempt to joogle a bit of Southern wit and wisdom in a few snappy paragraphs.” She has two stories coming out in Simon and Schuster’s CHOCOLATE series–one in November of 2001 and one in the spring. The first short story will appear in Chocolate for a Woman’s Dreams, which will be published inNovember and the other, called Getting My Mojo Working will be published in Chocolate For A Teen’s Soul in the spring. A poem was published in October of 2001 in HOPSCOTCH magazine for girls with another poem set for publication in November in SHINING STAR.
Reviews
A Review of Grits, Guts, and Baseball
by Aaron Smyser (SHS)
Aaron Smyser, SHS Researcher
Personally to me, the book Grits, Guts, and Baseball: The Story of Coach Sank Powe is a tale of a hero. When you look at the life of Sank Powe, what he has been through, what he has had to overcome, and how he did it, one can’t help but refer to the man as a hero.
This book taught me as well as it will teach anyone who might read it a life lesson that is very simple: don’t quit. Quitting, according to Powe is “a rotten feeling” and “well deserved.” I agree with this statement totally. I hate quitting, and I really enjoyed reading about someone else who has the same attitude. However, Sank Powe also shows courage in dealing with life’s everyday problems. He lived during the troubled times of segregation and had to have courage just to make it through the day.
His mother was always there for him in those times when he needed advice, love, or just a hug. We all need encouragement sometimes, and that is exactly what Coach Sank Powe gives to his players as he is the head coach of the Cleveland High School baseball team. His Poweisms (or sayings that have become famous in the area) are well known to all his players, and they apply them to everyday life. For example “If you don’t like my instructions, don’t hesitate to keep your mouth shut.” It’s sayings like these that help people live life in ways that are respectful and good for everyone.
Related Websites
Bibliography
- Jacks, Beth Boswell, ed. Grit, Guts, & Baseball: The Story of Sank Powe. Lee Sanford Publishers, 1996.
- McCormick, Mary Dale McCormick. “Grit, Guts, & Baseball.” Delta Book News, 1996.
- Cleveland, Rick. “Cleveland High’s Powe has story worth telling.” Clarion-Ledger, 1993.
- Hood, Orley. “Sank Powe wins a lot more than mere ball games.” Clarion-Ledger, 1997.
- “Sank Powe Home Page.” Available at http://www.tecinfo.com/~jaxgbt/Powe/, May 17, 1999.