Eudora Welty was born April 13, 1909, at the Welty estate on North Congress Street in Jackson to Christian Webb and Chestina Andrew Welty. Her father built the house when he and his wife first moved to Jackson. Miss Eudora, the oldest and only daughter of the family, recalled in her autobiography One Writer’s Beginnings the importance of reading in her childhood home.

This is worth repeating … importance of reading in her childhood home.

When did a young Eudora begin to read as a writer? There is a difference: reading for pleasure and reading as an author. By all accounts the habit must have happened early in her educational development … in order to produce one of the most significant writers in recent time, primarily because of her deep and very real fiction.

Miss Welty often reminisced about her childhood home, the closeness of her family, and the interest of her parents pertaining to the education of their children. She explained, “You learned the alphabet like you learned your address and phone number in case you got lost.”

This is worth repeating … importance of reading in her childhood home.

Miss Eudora attended Central High School in Jackson, 1921-25 – after completing high school; she went to Mississippi State College for Women in Columbus, 1925-27. Continuously encouraged by her family, she transferred to the University of Wisconsin in 1927, where she became an English major. She graduated in 1929 and continued her education at Columbia University Graduate School of Business in New York City where she studied advertising. While at Columbia, she was the captain of the women’s polo team. During the time Miss Eudora was in New York, she enjoyed attending the theater and each Sunday she visited the Metropolitan Museum. She exclaimed, “It was just a cornucopia!”

This is worth repeating … importance of reading in her childhood home.

But in 1931 tragedy struck the Welty family when her father passed away. His death was an overwhelming loss to her and her family. Eudora moved back to Jackson in order to be with them. She began to look for jobs in advertising and publicity. WJDX Radio Station in Jackson offered a part-time position, and in addition, she wrote the Jackson social scene for the Memphis, Commercial Appeal. Finally, a full time position came her way, and from 1933-36 she served as a publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration traveling throughout rural Mississippi. Her duties were writing newspaper articles, taking photographs, studying troubled juveniles, putting booths in county fairs, and interviewing various people. She stated, “It took me all over Mississippi, which was most important to me, because I’d never seen it … (the experience) was the real gem of my wanting to become a real writer, a true writer.”

This is worth repeating … importance of reading in her childhood home

In June of 1936, Eudora Welty published her first story, “Death of a Traveling Salesman,” which appeared in a small magazine called Manuscript. She said, “As usual, I began writing from a distance, but “Death of a Traveling Salesman” led me closer. It drew me toward what was at the center of it … In writing the story I approached (the cabin) and went inside with my traveling salesman, and had him … figure out what was there … ‘ A marriage, a fruitful marriage. That simple thing.’ Writing “Death of a Traveling Salesman” opened my eyes. And I had received the shock of having touched, for the first time, on my real subject: human relationships.”

This is worth repeating … importance of reading in her childhood home.

Miss Eudora was on her way as she put Mississippi on a worldwide map. She served on the staff of the New York Times Book Review, and traveled to France, Italy, England, and Ireland funded by a Guggenheim Fellowship. She published, to great acclaim, short story collections and novels, including “A Delta Wedding” and “The Ponder Heart.”

This is worth repeating … importance of reading in her childhood home.

Yet she consistently anchored herself in Jackson, coming home for good to nurse her ailing mother in the 1960’s, and after her mother’s death in 1966, she began to write again. In 1972, Eudora published “The Optimist’s Daughter” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973.

She wrote, “ … no explanation outside fiction for her stories; they are gifts from the writer.” Despite her fame, she was approachable and a common sight among the people of Jackson; you could greet her at the grocery store, or anywhere in the community where she might visit.

Indeed, She was a gift to Mississippi … her influence and popularity remains constant.

Eudora Welty died July 23, 2001 of pneumonia in Jackson at age of 92, and is buried there in Greenwood Cemetery. Her last words where spoken to her doctor when he asked, “Eudora, is there anything I can do for you?” Her rumored reply: “No, but thank you so much for inviting me to the party.”

Our Eudora … dear Miss Eudora … so on these beautiful April days when the azaleas are brilliant, and the towering pines wait patiently for the day lilies to join the glorious gala of Springtime, we think once again of Miss Eudora as she sat in her garden located at her home on 1119 Pinehurst Street, Jackson, and as encouraged by her family … book in hand.

Happy birthday, Miss Eudora …