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Mt LITI::Rarl: CAREER LF EUDORA WELTY and an Anall:TICAL Sl'ildy of 1Lie Appraisals

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Mt LITI::Rarl: CAREER LF EUDORA WELTY and an Anall:TICAL Sl'ildy of 1Lie Appraisals FLORIDA S'rATh UNIVERSITY mt LITI::RARl: CAREER LF EUDORA WELTY AND AN ANALl:TICAL Sl'IlDY OF 1lIE APPRAISAlS OF HER WORKS 01' FICTlOli By EVIE LEE WlII TE A Paper Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida state University in partlal fulf1llment of the reqUirements tor tne degree of ~,BS ter of Arts. Approved ',-:-::===:-;;===:-=-==;:-Professor Directing Faper ___ Representative, of Gr11duate CouncIl Augull t, 1955 " Dean of the Graduate 'Sonool TABLE OF COIl1EN:IS Page INTRODUCTION 0 0 0 0 0 • • · • • • · • • • • • • • • 1 Che.pter 1 0 MISS WELTY ' S LITERARY CAREER 0 • • • • • 0 6 II. loUSS WELTY'S WORKs OF FICTION . AB AHNOTATIlD BIBLICGRAPHY 0 • 0 • • • • • • • 29 III. AB ABALYSIS OF AHRl.lSAL • • • • • 0 • • • 49 IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION • • • • • • • • • • 62 APPENDIX • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • 68 BIBLIOGRAPlIY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 72 11 INTRODUCTION For the preservation of the culture and traditions of a region and of a country, fresh wit1.ngs of new and promising young artiats must be given recognition and broul!tlt to the attention of the public. )Jec!luse the bool<­ trade is often reluctant to risk publication of the \KIrk of !lIl unknown writer, artistic talent may rellll\in undis­ covered. In this connection Foro Madol< Ford, author, editor, critic, once severely criticized publishers for their failure to accept the work of new writers, illustrating wit!l the case of ~iBS Eudora .Ielty, whose work had been characterized by a publisher as "higAly developed, sensitive, elusive, tense, and extremely beeutiful." 1 In the light of Miss ,·:elty' 8 later acceptance end recognition as a writer of distinction, it Seem! of interest to review the circums.tences under which her literal')' efforts gained for her the confidence of the publishing world, both in America and in England, noting various aspects of her success tram a popular as well as tram a critical point of view. In addi tioll, it seems of value to consider the appraisal ot her writings according to the cr1teria of Irord ~,adol< Ford, "Travel Notes I Publishers end UIl­ published Writers," Saturday Hevia" of Literature, XX (June 10, 1939), 14. 1 2 professional tools used in libraries for the selection and purchase of new books with the purpose of detel'lDln'ng to what extent the writing. appear to have merit for inclusion in library collections for young and adult readers. It also seems of interest to examine the appraisals with the view of obServing what position in American letters Miss Welty appears to have gained according to the critical reception of her worl<B. This paper therefore haS a three-reId purpoae. In the first place, it reviews some of the outstanding events of Miss Welty's lite which ere related to the publication end recognition or her writings, pointing out evidences at her success as indicated both by the reception of her lIorl<S end also by various awards and honors which she has received. In the second pl~~e, the paper Shows by means of e formal annoteted listing the extent and nature of the writings published to date. In the third place, it attempts to ex­ amine the approi.al at her works of fiction in the light ot the standards ot book-selection media used in libraries with the purpose of determining the worth of the writings for 3ustifying their inclUSion in library collection. It elsa attempts to pOint out indications as to the place held by ~liss "elty in the field of Americen literature. The peper consists of four chapters. Chapter I deals with the literary aspects of Mis. -Ielty'. life, emphasizing significant indications of succe.. through her 3 efforts and aenieveaents and evidenoes of recognition in both the literal';' and publishing world. Since an earUer .t00y2 presented material giving to same extent a personalized account of IUse Welty, this chapter containS only such b1ographl.cal data lIS seem directly related to her wrltings and brings up to date material pertelning to hal' l1tel'al';' career. Chapter II ls an annotated bibliography ot M1.ss Welty'S works ot fiction, presented tor the purpose of ' bringing together he" wr1tings in such a way as to show the extent of her 11teral';' achievements and to indicate by means of short summaries the nature of the contents ot the writings. :!he list 1s div1ded into tlro sections according to torm, namely: books and short storles. :!he f1rst sroup, l1atint! all books pubUshed to date as indicated by the standard tools for 1dentity1ng an author's works, 1! arranged chronolOgically and indicates varioU! editions and reprintings. :!he second sectlon 1s en alphabetical liSting of the short stories w1th information as to the earliest appearance of each ato~ and all known sourCes for loce.ting the indiVidual stor1es. 'lbe anno1:jltions of both books and short etories are based upon the reading of the works aided bT appropriate quotations from rev1ews of recognized critics. Cbapter III 1s concerned with an analysis of the I1cBtharine Powell HindS, "'lbe Lite and Works ot Eudora WeltT" (UnpubliShed M... ter'. theSiS, Department of EngliSh, Duke UniverSity, 1954), pp. 1-79. " appraiSal o~Miss Welty's works of fiction as reflecte~ by the 1mme~te critical reaction of reviewers in llbrpry aidS for selecting current books and by the i'z'equencl ot inolusion in retrospective gul~es for the selection and , purchase of older end stenderd books for library oolleo­ tions. In addition, various reoomme~d lists and reCognized Bllthologies for oultural reading and .~ heve been con- sulted !IS a l!I8anB or reveall;nc rurther evidences of value of Miss Welty'$ writingS for justifying representation on library .helves. In so far as it is possible, it attempts to indicate the position in American letters held by MiSs lielty at present. For the purpose of this paper the analysis has been ll.m1 ted to the appraisals of the sU works of fiction appearing in the BQOk R~view Digest, 1941-1954, inclusive. Chepter IV g1ves a resume of the s1gn1flaent pOints thet heve been observed in making the brief investigation and compliation. It s~rlzes the evidences of recogni­ tion gained by Miss Welty throu~ her achievements as a wri tel' of fiction lllld points out indications as to her literary reputat1on. It sums up the findings r<lsulting from the BllelYij1s of appraisal with reference to the value of her writingS and also with respect to her position in the l1terary world of modern Amer1can cul1:m-e • . Following the concluding chapter 1s an Appena1x and the B1bliography. 1:I1e AppendlX contains an 5 alpbabetical bibliographical list of anthologies which have been found to include representat1ve short ..tor18s from Miss Welty' 9 collections . lhe first section of th& Bibl1ograI>h¥ containS an alphabetical listing of sources which ..are consulted in malr1ng the compilation. The second section 18 a selected list of articles included in boOks and perIodicals conoerning Miss Welty and her writings which were used for the facts presented in this paper. lhe list is divIded into two groups . lhe first group containS biographical informat1on; the .econd, cr1tical mater1al. The articles in both groups are arranged alphabaticall¥ by author WIlen the euthor was known and by title wilen the author vas not given. For the purpose of this compilat1on tile list i9 :l;itmited to mater1als avail­ able in the Florida State University fecilities and to publications appearing through May, 1955. CHAPTER I MISS lI'ELl'I'S LITERAllY CAREER Until Enders welty's Cltor1es were iSlued in book form, they were practically unknown exoept to readers of several small magazines I and like IIIIUly other 11terary art1sts, Miss ,;elty experienced certain diffioult1es in securing book publication. During the lalIt year of hu Ufe, Ford lIadOl< Ford, editor, author, and critic, failing to find a market for her work, ch1ded pubUshers for their neglect of promising young wr1ters. In v1ew of tbe later ecceptance and recogn1tion of Miss Welty'S writingS, 1t 18 interesting to note a recent comment concern1n& her position in the contemporary scene: In recent years, the name of ll:Udora Welty hall virtually become synonymous with artistry, integrity, and intellIgence in AmerIcan fictIon; any full-length book by the '!leS19SipPI Marvel' 1s a lite~ event of magnitude. In addition, 1419S 1(alty' s ow remarkS regarding the situat10n are .1gn1fIcant, When I think of Ford MadOl< Ford • • • how ha tried to find a publ1sher for my book at: stories all that lalIt year of hls lUe . • • • And bere I myselt: have turned out to be not at ell the mar"tyred prOOlie1ng lw1lUam Peden, "The Inoomparable Welty,' saturday Review, XXXVIII (Apr11 9, 1955), 18. B 7 wri ter, but bave bad all the good luck and all the good things Ford chided the world for w1 thholding from me and my ldnd.2 MUs lielty, Who has lived most of her lire in Jaclalon, MissiJIsippi, where she was bom on April 13, 190\1,3 bas been writing since early childhood. It haS been said that her literary act1vity began at the age of five with a sort of sociological study, "Why We Have IlaSter,' illuatrated by the author with a somewhat puzzling drawing of a rabbit USing a telephone. Bound in shirt cardboards, the copies ot the story sold for five cents each.4 In a home where there were boolal of man,y types, ranging from ancient Greek and Roman poetry to contemporary literature, Miss Welty early developed the habit of readillg widsly. Katharine Anne Porter, a friend and literary con­ fidante, in oommenting upon Miss welty's reading tillites, stated that • • • always trom the beginning until now, she lived folk tales, fairy tales, old legends, and she 11keS to listen ~o the songs and stories of people who 11ve in old communitieg whose culture is recollected and bequeathed orally.
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