Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty was born in 1909 in Jackson, Mississippi. She had a sheltered upbringing and was very close with her family, which included a mother, father, and two brothers. As a child, she loved learning and excelled in school. Welty attended Mississippi State College for Women in Columbus before graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1929. She also studied at the Columbia University School of Business. Before dedicating herself full-time to writing, she took small jobs at local newspapers and radio stations. In addition, during the Great Depression, she worked as a photographer for the Works Progress Association in Mississippi. In June 1936, Welty published her first short story, “Death of a Travelling Salesman,” in the journal Manuscript. Her subsequent work appeared in numerous periodicals, large and small, including The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker. “A Memory” was published in 1941 in Welty’s first book, A Curtain of Green. She later published a novella and a second collection of short stories before publishing her first novel, Delta Wedding, in 1946. In addition to dozens of short stories, Welty would go on to publish five novels, including Pulitzer Prize-winning The Optimist’s Daughter (1972), and three works of nonfiction. Later in life, she would also publish several books of photographs, including Photographs (1989), which featured her photos taken during her time with the WPA. Welty received many honors throughout her prolific writing career, including the 1980 Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 2000, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She died in her lifelong home of Jackson, Mississippi, in 2001, where she is also buried.