Major Works
- Dodge County, the Land Between the Rivers (1960), a reprint of a series of articles written by Ovid Vickers that appeared in the Times Journal-Spotlight
- Lola Forest (poem)
- Miss Pearl Parkerson (poem)
Biography of Ovid Vickers
Ovid Vickers was born in Gadsden, Alabama, in 1930 but grew up in Dodge County, Georgia. He was educated in the public schools of Dodge County, graduating from Chauncy High School in 1948. He entered George Peabody College for Teachers (now the School of Education of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville, Tennessee, receiving his bachelor and master’s degrees from Peabody. He later returned to Peabody to earn a Specialist in Education degree. After graduation, he taught for one year at Rhine High School in Rhine, Georgia, before he was drafted into the service during the Korean War.
Vickers joined Mississippi’s East Central Community College faculty in 1955, living the rest of his life in Mississippi. He retired from East Central Community College as English instructor and local historian. He was a faculty member at ECCC for forty years, but his interests and literary activity ranged far beyond the classroom.
Throughout his career, Vickers was active in national, regional, and state organizations relating to the teaching of English literature and to the preservation of the South’s rich heritage. His stories, essays, and poems have appeared in both scholarly journals and popular publications such as Southern Living Magazine. His poetry is included in Mississippi Writers: An Anthology, used as a textbook in many Mississippi high schools. The work Dodge County: The Land Between the Rivers is a reprint of a series of articles written by Ovid Vickers that appeared in the Times Journal-Spotlight.
For many years, Vickers spoke to groups across the state as a member of the Speakers’ Bureau of the Mississippi Humanities Council. Although recognized as a writer and speaker, Vickers felt he was first and foremost a classroom teacher.
Related Websites
- Mississippi: A Paradox, an article written in 2006 by Ovid Vickers in Neshoba Democrat
- Ovid S. Vickers Fine Arts Center is named for Vickers at East Central Community College
- Ovid S. Vickers Award for excellence in English teaching is given at Mississippi Delta Community College