Eudora Welty

Eudora Alice Welty was a highly acclaimed American author, best known for her short stories and novels that depicted the American South. She was born on April 13, 1909, in Jackson, Mississippi, where she spent a significant portion of her life. Welty was the daughter of Mary Chestina and Christian Webb Welty and grew up with her two younger brothers, Walter Andrews and Edward Jefferson. Her mother was a schoolteacher, and the family were members of the Methodist church.

Welty was educated at the Mississippi State College for Women (now called Mississippi University for Women), the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Columbia Business School. While at Columbia University, she was a regular at Romany Marie's café in 1930. However, Welty's true passion was literature, and she soon devoted her energy to writing fiction. Her first short story, "Death of a Traveling Salesman," was published in 1936, and her work caught the attention of Katherine Anne Porter, who became a mentor to her. Welty's first collection of short stories, A Curtain of Green, was published in 1941 and established her as one of America's leading literary voices.

In addition to her writing, Welty also worked as a photographer for the Works Progress Administration during the 1930s. This job took her all over the state of Mississippi, where she photographed people from all economic and social classes. Collections of her photographs include "One Time, One Place" and "Photographs."

Welty's work received numerous awards and accolades throughout her career. In 1973, she won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, The Optimist's Daughter. She was also the first living author to have her works published by the Library of America. In 1992, Welty was awarded the Rea Award for the Short Story for her lifetime contributions to the American short story. She was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, founded in 1987. Despite her fame, Welty remained a common sight in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, where she lived near Belhaven College. She passed away on July 23, 2001, at the age of 92, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.