She Captured The Essence Of A Fast Disappearing American South

Today we remember the celebrated Southern writer, Eudora Welty, on what would have been her 115th birthday. She is remembered as one of the finest short story writers in American literary history. Welty lived and died in Jackson, Mississippi. Although she attended college in Wisconsin and New York, and traveled abroad, she always returned to the house and garden on Pinehurst Street that she had called "home" since high school.

Her skill as a writer enabled her to transform observations of life in Mississippi into a body of literature including novels, short stories, reviews, letters, and an autobiography. Over sixty years she received a host of awards including the Pulitzer Prize for her 1973 novel, The Optimist's Daughter.

Here is a short CSPAN BookTV production exploring Welty and her home in Jackson.

For four years toward the end of the Great Depression (1929-1939) Welty was employed by the Works Progress Administration to document everyday life in Mississippi. Her photography from that period has become well known as an expression of her powers of observation. Smithsonian Magazine produced this short documentary on her photography on the occasion of the centennial of her birth in 2009.

For more information on Welty readers should visit the outstanding website maintained by the Euroda Welty Foundation.





Sources

Text:

Eudora Welty entry, Wikipedia.com

Photos and Illustrations:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington