Eudora: A Writer's Life

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Summary: Rewarding glimpses into a remarkable life
Review: I spent most of the weekend immersed in this book--and becoming enchanted with Eudora Welty. Monday I was at the library getting several of her works. I wanted to start at the beginning, so I read her first short story--Death of a Traveling Salesman. It was as gripping and powerful as I had hoped. This biography is respectful and insightful. It provides you with a strong sense of a gentle, talented southern lady who was absolutely true to herself and the world in which she spent her life and nurtured her talents. I am looking forward to reading everything Eudora Welty wrote and getting to know her. And it all began with this biography.

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Summary: Reviewed by Heather Grimshaw for Bookreporter.com
Review: Interpretations of books may differ, but most readers agree that an author's lot in life is to unlock diaries, tell secrets, and share the intimate thoughts of their characters. But when it comes to sharing their lives, some authors are more willing to bare their pasts and share their inspiration than others. Eudora Welty did not embrace the notion of her life populating pages of a biography, yet Ann Waldron portrays the author in EUDORA: A Writer's Life in a way that will surely prompt a renewed interest in her works.

Waldron employs a stark style of writing that is at times dry, listing dates and events with little commentary, but her simplicity allows the richness of her content to shine. A book that promises to enthrall readers whose literary interests have led to Welty's novels, EUDORA: A Writer's Life will undoubtedly serve as a useful reference.

Those whose interest in Welty precedes her novels should be prepared for a sneak peek into the author's development of characters and the personal experiences that may have molded them in her mind. Using quotes from interviews and snippets from correspondence, Waldron is able to project Welty's voice in a way that allows readers to hear Welty as though she were in the same room. Writers will especially appreciate one quote from Welty, in which she explains the way she discovered one character's role in several short stories. "All I had to do was put two and two together, him and my little group, and I had him by the tail," she said.

While Waldron shares some of Welty's inner thoughts, as documented in letters and such, she does not presume to analyze the meaning behind Welty's stories or the motivation of her characters, a practice that Welty openly disparaged. In one chapter, Welty comments on letters she received from readers wanting to know whether a character's choice of an apple in "A Visit of Charity" is a reference to the Garden of Eden. Welty, whose impatience resonates in her quote said of the question, "The things some people teach! She was just eating that [an apple] the way you would a Hershey bar --- or anything else you'd saved for a reward after an ordeal. I used to visit the old ladies. They scared me. I couldn't wait to leave."

This quote and others help to draw a picture of Welty, often called "Eudo" by family and friends and loved unilaterally by colleagues, friends, family, and audiences around the world. She was not, however, a woman who enjoyed the social life of the times. Her looks are described by some as ugly, off-putting, and odd; but such descriptions are always followed by praise of her character, her zest for life, and her talent as a writer. Welty's looks may have prevented a slightly less creative girl from achieving similar heights, but she seemed to channel both the negative and the positives of her life into her work. She was able to transcend the superficiality of the times, which put a staggering amount of importance on looks, and is remembered by colleagues as a woman before her time.

The book, which spans 340 pages, also delves into the network of literary giants that Welty cultivated. From her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi to New York City and abroad Welty toured, spoke, and nurtured a growing base of loyal friends and fans. She was called approachable by students who attended her lectures and lovable by friends who shared intimate moments and memories with her. Well respected and revered by writers, editors, and publishers, Welty was a multifaceted woman who first tested creative waters as a photographer who was known to walk into less fortunate neighborhoods and take pictures of people from all walks of life.

Welty identified her dream to be a writer in the early 20s and her determination led her from the society pages of a daily Mississippi newspaper to becoming junior publicist for the Works Progress Administration; and, later, a novelist whose life is of interest to readers around the world.

After reading about her life, I find myself recalling characters that at one point or another find themselves in similar circumstances or places that Eudora experienced, and have already put her autobiography titled ONE WRITER'S BEGINNINGS on my literary wish list.

--- Reviewed by Heather Grimshaw

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Summary: The Petrified Biographer
Review: This is a terrible, mean-spirited attack against our greatest living writer, attacking her looks, her private life, etc. Eudora Welty has said throughout her life that she didn't want a biography written about her. This woman obviously does not respect her or she would respect her wishes. And why do such a book at this late date, with Miss Welty about to turn 90?? The author coyly pretends to be an admirer and then makes endless lurid allusions to a lady who basically has devoted her whole life to cultivating her art. Our most gifted writer is dismissed as a homely, unwanted "fag hag." (Judging by the photo of the dust jacket, Miss Waldron is no Hedy Lamarr herself). What would Edna Earle say about such a woman!! Don't buy this garbage. Buy another copy of one of Miss Eudora's books instead. You'll love it and it won't upset your stomach. To think some poor trees had to be slaughtered for this trash!! By the way, Happy 90th Birthday to Miss Eudora Welty who will certainly survive such a infantile attack as this. And someday an HONORABLE biography about her no will doubt be written.