Eudora Welty: 8 Surprising Facts About the Southern Storyteller

Eudora Welty was a literary giant who captivated readers with her unique voice and perspective on Southern life. But behind the scenes, Welty was full of surprises and unknown facts that few people knew about. Here are some interesting and little-known facts about the enigmatic writer.

1. Welty never married, and it’s unclear whether she ever had any romantic relationships. She once said, “I don’t think I ever really fell in love with anybody except my family.”
2. Welty was a talented photographer who documented life in the South during the Great Depression. Her photographs were published in magazines like Fortune and Life, and later collected in a book titled “Eudora Welty: Photographs.”
3. Welty was an avid traveler and often used her trips as inspiration for her writing. She traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, and South America.
4. Welty was a big fan of baseball and often attended games. In fact, she once wrote a short story about a baseball game, titled “The Catch.”
5. Despite being a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Welty never attended college. Instead, she studied advertising at Columbia University and later worked as a publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration.
6. Welty was a voracious reader and had a deep love of books. She once said, “Reading usually precedes writing, and the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.”
7. Welty was a lifelong friend of fellow Southern writer and Nobel laureate, William Faulkner. The two corresponded frequently and even shared an editor, Albert Erskine.
8. Despite her success as a writer, Welty never forgot her roots. She remained devoted to her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, and often wrote about the people and places she knew there.

Eudora Welty was not just a great writer, but also a multifaceted and intriguing personality. Her love of photography, baseball, and travel, as well as her deep friendship with William Faulkner, are just some of the many fascinating facts that make her an even more compelling figure.

You can now write for RSP Magazine and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.