Eudora Welty (born 1909) is considered one of the most important authors of the twentieth century. Although the majority of her stories were set in the American South and reflected the region's language and culture, critics agreed that Welty's treatment of universal themes and her wide-ranging artistic influences clearly transcended regional boundaries. She was the first living writer to have a commemoration of works published by the Library of America.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi at a time when that city had not yet lost its rural atmosphere, Welty grew up in the bucolic South she so often evokes in her stories. She attended the Mississippi State College for Women and the University of Wisconsin, where she majored in English Literature, then studied advertising at Columbia University; however, graduating at the height of the Great Depression, she was unable to find work in her chosen field. Returning to Jackson in...