Eudora Welty
Biography and Criticism
Birth
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Born on April 13, 1909 ; Jackson, Mississippi
– Father - Christian Webb Welty; an insurance company
president
– Mother - Chestina Andrews; a teacher in West
Virginia
– Parents provided Eudora with a loving home, a strong
family, and a love of reading
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Raised in a middle class family
Childhood
Spent her childhood days in Jackson, Mississippi
Loved to read
Checked out two books each day at the Andrew
Carnegie Library: “I cannot remember a time
when I was not in love with [books].” This
library was later renamed the Eudora Welty
Library.
 Played with her brothers
 Learned how to play sports such as baseball and
golf
 Rode her bicycle around town
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Education
Attended Mississippi State College for
Women (now Mississippi University for
Women), 1926-27
 Attended the University of Wisconsin, B.A.,
1929
 Attended Columbia University Graduate
School of Business, 1930- 31
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Adult Life
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Demonstrated an early interest in painting and
photography
Returned to Jackson, MS during the Depression
after father’s death
Worked for newspapers and radio stations in
Mississippi during early depression years
Worked as a publicity agent for the state office of
the Works Progress Administration (WPA) – took
photographs of places, studied troubled juveniles,
interviewed people
– "It took me all over Mississippi, which is the most
important thing to me, because I'd never seen it. . . .
[The experience] was the real germ of my wanting to
become a real writer, a true writer.“
Adult Life (cont.)
Was briefly a member of the New York
Times Book Review staff, in New York, NY.
 Was made an honorary consultant in
American letters, Library of Congress,
beginning 1958.
 Loved photography and gardening.
Maintained a huge garden with/for her
mother, and later in memory of her
mother.
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Significant Works
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Wrote many novellas, novels, and short stories.
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Listed below are the most noteworthy titles:
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“A Curtain of Green” 1941
The Robber Bridegroom (novella), 1942
Delta Wedding 1946
Ponder Heart, 1954
Losing Battles (novel) 1970
The Optimist’s Daughter, 1972
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty 1980
One Writer's Beginnings 1984 (autobiography)
Awards and Recognition
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Won many awards, including the list
below:
– O. Henry Award 1942, 1943, 1968
– National Book Award for fiction (Losing
Battles) 1971
– Pulitzer Prize in fiction for The Optimist's
Daughter 1973
– National Medal for Literature 1980
– French Legion of Honor-(highest civilian honor)
1996
– First living writer ever to be included in the
prestigious Library of America series 1999
Positive Criticism/Accolades 1
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“If there is any key to her importance, it exists
in the faithful exercise of a creative imagination.”
– Welty uses her imagination to see, hear, and
celebrate different aspects of the human experience;
she effectively conveys this imagery to readers so
that they too can experience the situations in her
writing. Welty will sometimes focus on a character
who must suffer through a problem, work through a
mystery, and/or understand the reality of a life
experience. Welty takes these very real experiences
and transmutes them into the language of fiction.
Critics enjoy this aspect of her work.
Positive Criticism/Accolades 2
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“Local customs of speech and language have also had a
marked influence on her fiction” as well as her consistent
use of the “southern settings.”
– Her stories/novels are often set in Mississipi. This attachment to
place allows Welty to draw upon her life experiences and
strengths with dialect; however, she uses this familiar setting to
delve into the depths of universal human experience, so her
works are not simply regional. Welty tries to imitate the
Southern dialect in her work. She loves to listen to people
speak, and she tries to effectively reproduce that in her writing.
She also believes that Southerners are "born reciters" and "great
memory retainers,” meaning that Southerners like herself are
effective story tellers; they also have vivid memories which help
to enhance the stories.
Negative Criticism/Perceived Flaws 1
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“In the 1960s, an objection flared up which had first
been kindled among a few liberals with the publication of
Delta Wedding: They found it a hopelessly regional
exercise in nostalgia for the lost life of the southern
plantation.”
– Race relations were heated in the 1960s. Welty, as a prominent
southern author, was expected to “employ her talents in the
cause of civil rights,” which she did not do in this book. Welty’s
response to this review also garnered great criticism. Welty said
“there is the relationship between the races. How can one kind
of relationship be set apart from the others? Like the great root
system of an old and long-established growing plant, they are all
tangled up together." The critics felt that Welty lacked
awareness of social issues that were painfully obvious.
Negative Criticism/Perceived Flaws 2
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Some critics believe that her “fiction is notably
lacking in villainous characters and behavior.”
– Welty tends to show tolerance for all of humanity, so
the characters – even negative ones – tend to be
shown in a forgiving light. This element takes away
from the realism of her work. Critics also compare
and contrast Welty to other Southern writers like
William Faulkner and Robert Penn Warren who DID
focus on the darker side of southern history.
Considering this darker view of southern life which did
exist in literature of the time, Welty seems to be
naively positive.
Death
Died on July 23, 2001 in Jackson,
Mississippi
 Died from pneumonia
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