Eudora Welty's memoir, "One Writer's Beginnings", is a charming account of her journey to becoming a writer. In 1983, she delivered three lectures at Harvard University, which were later developed into this book.

In the first section, "Listening", Welty emphasizes the significance of books in her childhood. Her parents taught her to read, and she listened to the stories of the ladies in Jackson, Mississippi. She was an observant child, remembering details about how people communicated.

The second section, "Learning to See", focuses on her family trips to visit relatives in West Virginia and Ohio. These experiences gave her a strong sense of place, which is evident in her writing.

In "Finding a Voice", Welty writes about the things that inspired her to write. It could be a phrase from a conversation or a person she met. Her job as a photographer and publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration also sharpened her observational skills. Writing stories helped her discover connections in her own experiences and memories.

The memoir has a conversational tone, making it easy to read and engage with. It gives readers a glimpse into the life and mind of a talented writer. Overall, "One Writer's Beginnings" is a fascinating and inspiring read.

Eudora Welty (1909 - 2001) was from Jackson, Mississippi and spent most of her life in the house where she was born.

Known mainly as a short story writer, she won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for fiction with "The Optimist’s Daughter", which I read as part of my lifetime Pulitzer challenge.

Most writers write about what they know, so I was intrigued to learn how a woman who lived almost a century in a time and place where many women didn't go to college decided to become a writer.

"One Writer’s Beginnings" was originally a series of lectures at the University of Wisconsin, her alma mater. In these remarks to students, readers discover the childhood experiences that led Eudora Welty to write.

Welty's family has lived in the US since before the revolution. Her father, from Hocking, Ohio, a beautiful area with waterfalls and hiking trails, chose to make his way in the world and moved to West Virginia, where he met Chessie Andrews and married her.

Welty's father was an optimist, and her mother, a pessimist. Her father gave his fiancée a choice of two places to live: the Thousand Islands near Nova Scotia or Jackson, Mississippi. Chessie chose Mississippi, and that's where Eudora was born and spent most of her life.

Many of Welty's stories have a school teacher as the heroine. Her mother put her in first grade at age five because she could already read. Skipping grades was normal if a child was competent. Eudora loved school, especially English and Latin grammar. She started college at age fifteen.

After graduating from Wisconsin, Eudora returned home. She knew she wanted to be a writer. Her first job was with the Works Progress Association, telling stories of people affected by the depression. This gave her confidence and led to a lifetime of writing.

It wasn't until ten years later that she published her first story, "The Death of a Traveling Salesman". Around this time, she met her agents and lifelong friends. After the publication of "The Golden Apples", she had a long writing career.

In these talks, Welty only glosses over her writing process because the focus was on how she got started. Those hoping to learn about her actual writing process will be disappointed.

From this published talk, it's clear that Welty's parents had a big impact on her life. Growing up in the rural south, her only entertainment was reading, playing games with siblings and neighbors, and going to the movies. These experiences all found their way into her writing.

Modern authors often write memoirs about how they write, which are some of my favorite works to read. Welty shows how her childhood experiences shaped her into the writer she became. Although not what I expected, I found these accounts fascinating.

A childhood over one hundred years ago is history, a time of silent films and cross country train travel. These vignettes tell the story of a woman who came out of the rural south to become a prolific and renowned writer.

4 stars

Interesting at times, especially a look into what it was like in the early turn of the 20th Century. Eudora Welty's account provides a fascinating glimpse into that era. However, she didn't spend an excessive amount of time on her early days as a writer. Instead, she focused more on her parents and herself as a child. This gives the reader a unique perspective on her upbringing and the influences that shaped her. By delving into her family life, Welty allows us to understand the environment in which she grew and developed. It also adds a personal touch to her story, making it more engaging and relatable. Overall, her work offers a valuable insight into both the past and her own personal journey.

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Eudora Welty was born in 1909 in Jackson, Mississippi. In a "continuous thread of revelation," she sketches her autobiography. She tells us how her family and surroundings contributed to shaping not only her personality but also her writing. Homely and commonplace sights, sounds, and objects resonate with the emotions of recollection. The striking clocks, the Victrola, her father's coverless little book, the mountains, and her earliest box camera all have significance. She has recreated this vanished world with the same subtlety and insight as in her fiction.

Even if Eudora Welty were not a major writer, her description of growing up in the South would be notable. The interplay between black and white, town and countryside, and dedicated schoolteachers and the public is vivid. That she is a splendid writer gives her experience a family likeness to others in the generation that produced a literary renaissance. Until this book, she had discouraged biographical investigations. It was not easy for this shy lady to undertake her own literary biography, relive memories, and go through letters and photographs. But we are in her debt for the rare pleasure she offers.

My Review: The prose of Miss Eudora's fiction is surpassed in this expansion and revision of her Massey Lecture. For those unacquainted with her work, I recommend starting with short fiction and then moving on to her novel. This memoir should come after one knows if they can appreciate her work. While her beautiful sentences appeal to some, others find them precious. I completely disagree. "One Writer's Beginnings" is told in a narrative voice like her fiction. It is constructed like a linear tale of a life. There are many things in her history that formed her consciousness of time, place, and rightness. An anecdote of her parents' morning routine illuminates how she "got" the signals of relationship. Another moment shows she never felt unmixed emotion.

The death of her father in 1931 is too painful for her to go into. She elides the details, leaving the reader without an anchor. I can't fault her for her reticence, but in several areas, it would have been better if she had let others guide her. Well, and therein lies the rub. She never wanted to answer questions, which is also why she wrote such marvelous stories. Miss Eudora Welty, thank you for all of it and a safe journey for your gifts to us.