Ever is a Long Time: A Journey into Mississippi’s Dark Past by W. Ralph Eubanks

Discussion Questions and Extra Material

Video from MPB program “Writers”
NPR story about Eubanks’s experience using the bookmobile in Mount Olive growing up (text and audio)
NPR story where Eubanks discusses Natasha Trethewey

1. How is Eubanks’s sense of home conflicted by the racial climate of Mount Olive and
Mississippi?
2. For Eubanks, how do the past and present interact to create a sense of home?
3. Why do you think Eubanks chose “Ever Is A Long Time” for his title?
4. How did Ralph’s father gain the respect of the white citizens of Mount Olive?
5. What is a moral code, and how does it affect behavior in southern society?
6. Discuss Eubanks’s sons’ role in his decision to write this book.