Eudora Welty
1909-2001
Early Life
Born April 13, 1909
Idyllic childhood in Jackson, Mississippi
Two brothers, loving parents
Schoolteacher and insurance executive
Lived in Jackson for most of her life
Schools
Mississippi State College for Women
University of Wisconsin
Advertising at the Columbia University business school
Return
Father’s untimely death, 1931
Returned home
Worked at a local radio station
Covered the Jackson social scene for the newspaper
The Great Depression
1933-36, a publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Rural Mississippi
Took memorable photographs of the Great Depression
Writing
Published fiction in 1936
On staff of the New York Times Book Review
Traveled to Europe on a Guggenheim Fellowship
Extended writing residences at Oxford and Cambridge
Notable Works
Delta Wedding 1946
The Ponder Heart 1954
The Optimist's Daughter 1972
