1. Eudora Welty “Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for the threads, how to follow, how to connect, find in the thick of the tangle what clear line persists. The strands are all there; to the memory nothing is ever really lost.” ~One Writer’s Beginnings (1984)

2. Short Biography Born 1909 in Jackson, Miss. Led a very isolated, very sheltered life Traveled widely, but always returned to parents’ house Never married; never had children Attended University of Mississsippi, University of Wisconsin Madison, and Columbia University Worked as columnist for the Memphis, Tennessee Commercial Appeal and as a publicist for the Works Progress Administration. Also held various lecturing and teaching posts Was an talented photographer; works displayed in several exhibitions and book collections Died in her parents’ house July 23, 2002

3. Dominant Themes Life in the deep south Isolation, alienation, separateness Epiphany Love and romance Family Folk tales and legend

4. Major Works A Curtain of Green (1941)—first collection of stories The Wide Net (1943) Delta Wedding (1946)—novel The Golden Apples (1949) The Bride of Innisfallen (1953) The Ponder Heart (1954)—novel Thirteen Stories (1965) Losing Battles (1970)—novel The Optimist’s Daughter (1972)—novel won Pulitzer Prize One Time, One Place (1978)—collection of photographs The collected Stories of Eudora Welty (1980) One Writer’s Beginnings (1984)—autobiography Photographs (1989)—collection of photographs

5. Awards and Recognitions 1940 "The Hitchhikers" in Best American Short Stories 1940. 1940 Bread Loaf Fellowship for the upcoming summer. 1941 "A Worn Path" in Prize Stories 1941: The O. Henry Awards. 1942 Guggenheim Fellowship. 1951 "The Burning" in Prize Stories 1951: The O. Henry Awards, second place. 1952 Election to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. 1958 Honorary Consultant to Library of Congress. 1972 Gold Medal for Fiction of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Optimist's Daughter. 1980 Medal of Freedom given by Jimmy Carter. 1986 National Medal of Arts for contributions to the nation's culture from the National Endowment for the Arts. 1987 French Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres medal. 1989 Selected to have portrait hung in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution by the National Portrait Gallery Commission. 1991 Cleanth Brooks Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Southern Letters from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. 1991 PEN-Malamud Award for Excellence in The Short Story. 1993 Honorary Degree from the University of Burgundy, France. 1996 French Légion d'Honneur.