Author Profile: Eudora Welty

During fifty-five years of writing, Eudora Welty has shaped the mind of the Southern reader. She believes writing cannot be taught but is developed by the writer in his own way in his own time. Beginning her own writing as a child, Miss Welty has been granted nearly every conceivable writing award including the Pulitzer Prize for THE OPTIMIST'S DAUGHTER in 1973. She worked during the early Depression on Mississippi newspapers and radio stations and the state office of the WPA. Under a male pseudonym, she wrote World War II battlefield reports. Her first book, CURTAIN OF GREEN was published in 1941.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1909, Miss Welty's writing reflects the character and manners of her people and their surroundings. Recurrent themes are the loneliness of individuals and the disappearance of the Old South into the New South. Her characters are real and her descriptions flawless and thrilling. CURTAIN OF GREEN as the title of her first book implies the lush setting of her tales.

From the use of myths in such books as FAIRY TALES OF THE NATCHEZ TRACE to THE SHOE BIRD, her only juvenile title, to the well loved short stories such as "Wide Net" , to her photography pieces such as TWENTY PHOTOGRAPHS to plays including BYE-BYE BREVOORT, diversity and abundant imagination abound in all the magical creations of Eudora Welty.

Like her fellow Mississippian, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty will be an author whose works will live and be quoted after this century. She is regional; but she is universal. Wise collectors will acquire their collection now.

Copyright 1996 - 2001 C. Dickens Fine, Rare and Collectible Books, Atlanta, Georgia