Recently, I had the opportunity by invitation to tour the lovely home of Mississippi’s famous literary voice, Eudora Welty. The home is located in Jackson near Belhaven College.  I shall try to fit into this small space what I saw and experienced and will forever remember … on that lovely day while we toured the home and gardens.

    Eudora was a Mississippian, indeed. She loved this state and stood with this state when she could have lived anywhere in the world.  She was world famous while she lived – an unusual feat in the literary world.  It had always seemed, the literary famous are only revered after death, but not with our Eudora.  The world discovered early on the huge talent that seeped from her imaginative mind. The celebration of her work was not lost on a world that did not pay attention, but how could one ignore Eudora Welty?

    In 1925, then sixteen year old Eudora and her family moved to a newly built house. The house was located at the end of the trolley line. The lovely Tudor Revival house featured high ceilings and big airy windows. From the windows, the Welty family enjoyed the gardens that surrounded the home. Even today the gardens are a source of pleasure for the many visitors who continue to flock to see firsthand the home and habitat of one of the world’s most famous authors.

    “The house was on a slight hill (my mother never could see the hill) covered with original forest pines, on a gravel road then a little out from town, and was built in a style very much of its day, of stucco and brick and beams in the Tudor style.  We had moved in, and Mother was laying out the garden.  Six years later, my father was dead.”      

—Eudora Welty

“One Writer’s Beginnings”

    Last week, as our group strolled through each room with wide-eyed attention, we witnessed one of the nation’s most intact literary house museums.  It was because of Eudora’s generosity that her home was donated to the State of Mississippi upon her death in 2001. The home located at 1119 Pinehurst was the place where the author wrote most of her short stories, novels, and essays.  Today, the home is administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Eudora lived at this place for over 75 years.  It became a National Historic Landmark in 2004.

    Eudora entertained her family, and her many Jackson friends, and visiting friends from all over the world in the lovely home. Some of the visiting friends included writers Robert Penn Warren, Katherine Anne Porter, Elizabeth Bowen, and Reynolds Price.  As I stood at the top of the stairwell, I could almost hear the twinkle of laughter and the sound of the happy voices of yesteryear.  Yes, Eudora loved southern humor as evidenced by her work, and when in her presence, there was much laughter.

    As we entered her bedroom, a large room located on the second floor, we immediately noticed Eudora’s writing desk located next to broad windows. As she wrote, she could clearly see the broad lawn below and the college across the street.  On the desk was one of the last typewriters she owned.  She enjoyed a writing routine which started early in the day.  While she worked on a certain project, she would write as long as she could and only paused briefly at noon.  Sometimes a quick lunch would be a Mississippi favorite – a tomato sandwich.

    When Eudora died, more than 5,000 books were in her home. Books written by other authors, not her work.  All of her many awards were found in a back closet – not on display. Clearly, the humility of the famous was deeply embedded in our own, Eudora Welty. She left not just the house to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History but all of her books to the state agency. The Welty family donated the furnishings and works of art that are displayed in the house.

    I must take a moment to linger in the garden.  It was lovingly tended by both Eudora and her mother, Chestina. The garden is beautifully restored to the 1940s period when it was at its height.  There may be found old southern flowers and plants.  Some are no longer found available at commercial establishments.  The beautiful Lady Banks Climbing Rose took away my breath as well as the wild Azaleas and huge Japonicas.  At the rear of the garden is a clubhouse. Eudora and her brothers called it a “pent house” where they spent many hours at play.  A replica of the “Pent house” was built in 2006.

     Last year would have been the 100th birthday of Eudora Welty.  I was fortunate to participate with the centennial celebrations and presented a dramatic reading of “Why I Live at The P. O.” at the historic Jefferson College, near Natchez.  What a joy to have played a small part for this great lady’s birthday party.

    The Eudora Welty Foundation was established on her 90th birthday and has continued to ensure her legacy so that future generations would share Eudora’s love of writing, reading, and literature. For more information: www.eudorawelty.org or call (601) 353-7762.

    “Friendship might have been the first, as well as the best, teacher of communication.”

—Eudora Welty

From her introduction to

The Norton Book of Friendship

    I encourage each of you to take the time for a short drive to Jackson and enjoy this magnificent home made famous by one of the greatest writers of the world. If the walls could talk, what a story! I will long remember my tour — a wonderful day.

    Anne McKee is an author and storyteller.  She lives in Meridian.  Anne is listed on the Mississippi Artist Roster, sponsored by Mississippi Arts Commission, as a dramatic and literary artist, storyteller, and as a Teaching Artist.  She is active with the arts and educational communities throughout Mississippi.  Visit her web site: www.annemckee.net