by Eudora Welty (1909-2001) is yet another author I’ve never heard of, yet found myself touring her house and gardens in Jackson, Mississippi. Welty won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973, so Doug had read The Optimist’s Daughter as part of his Pulitzer Prize reading project, so of course he knew about her.
The Tudor Revival-style house was built by Welty’s parents in 1925, so she moved there as a teen and then spent the rest of her considerably-long life there, having never married. Welty seemed like a fun lady with a big personality. She was a big reader, encouraged by her mother, whose philosophy was that “any room in our house, at any time in the day, was there to read in, or to be read to.” I like the idea of reading to a room.
Welty studied English literature in college, but graduated during the Great Depression, so she struggled to find work. She worked for the Works Progress Administration as a publicity agent, collecting stories and taking photographs of daily life in Mississippi. These experiences helped broaden her view of life and give her experiences to draw from in her later career as a writer.
She published her first story in a literary magazine in 1936, with more following soon after. It wasn’t long before a book of short stories was published, A Curtain of Green (1941). Her career was on its way. Over her career, she authored eight short story collections and six novels, along with publishing two books of her photography. Wikipedia lists nearly 30 awards and honors throughout her life!
The house and gardens were opened for tours in 2006, with a visitor’s center added next door a few years later. There is a small exhibit and short film on Welty’s life and career in the visitor’s center, before guests are led on a guided tour of the home.
The garden was a labor of love of Eudora and her mother Chestina. It was organized in “rooms”, with one room (area) for roses, and another for camelias. While we were there it was between big blooms, so it overall looked rather drab, though there were some spots of color, which I, of course, took pictures of.
