Two years ago, a poem written by the television center director at Mississippi State aired on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."

Hutto

Response to the work encouraged David N. Hutto Jr. to continue producing poems and prose intended to be read aloud. The result of his literary labors is a recently released compact disc of wordscapes-writings accompanied by music and sound effects.

In addition to writing each piece and narrating one of them, the Ashville, Ala., native also served as executive producer of the project. "When Autumn Comes" is published by MapleRidge Media and produced at Dill Studios in Birmingham.

A variety of voices, among them Starkville resident Elizabeth Smith Gwin and actor-director John Maxwell of Jackson, provide glimpses into Southern life and passages.

"As I began to write, stories emerged from my rural Alabama childhood, from travels to the red clay hills of Georgia, and experiences on beaches of the Gulf of Mexico," Hutto said.

All selections share a common thread about the spiritual journeys the University of Alabama art graduate said he believes most people make in life. Inspired by a fall trip to Maine, the title poem, which first aired in 1997 on NPR's nationally broadcast late afternoon news and variety show, shares Hutto's thoughts about metaphors of aging.

The CD is available at the MSU Bookstore and at the Book Mart and Be-Bop Records in Starkville. It is being distributed nationally through bookstores and record outlets.