Greenwood Cemetery

Оn may 14, 2009 Mississippi "Clarion Ledger" published an article by Sherry Lucas. Lucas spoke of the damage done to Greenwood Cemetery by the wind and the help needed to clean the area and restore some of the broken monuments. Lucas quoted Malcolm White,director of the Mississippi arts Comission, who said: “This historical, sacred place is not only the final resting place to many civic and cultural leaders of Jackson and Mississippi, but is the landscape and landmark of Eudora Welty’s final chapter”.

Which reminded me of the beautiful collection of photographs which appeared in 2000 - Country Churchyards. So when I had the chance I checked on Eudora's angel, (this is how my friends from Jackson called angel "Ellen Moore"). The angel was still on the ground, but the broken finger was already repaired.

Eudora Welty A Centenary

Venice, Italy on November 17-19, 2009 hosted an International Conference dedicated to Eudora Welty's Centenary. It was due to the efforts of two scholars from the USA and Italy - Pearl McHaney and Rosella Mamoli Zorzi (plus their teams, of course) that the conference was such a success. I was thrilled to be part of the conference. It was also my first time in Italy and I loved it.

Artists of the Great Depression

I was happy to attend Artists of the Great Depression show in Masur Museum of Art in Monroe,LA this past October. But I was even more happy that all of my family decided to come and the father of my two beautiful grandchildren Eric Lincoln wrote an article about the show. Here are some excerpts:

"I have known some artists with great depressions, yes, but I just never put “artist” and “great depression” together in a historical sense. Who had time to paint when you had to scrabble through the dust searching for grubs to feed your family for dinner? How could you develop film when there was no water and the air was thick with soot?

Nevertheless, I resigned myself to my fate as self-appointed volunteer art blogger for our God-fearin’ northeastern country, and parked in the Masur’s lot with my head hung respectfully low, presuming that I was about to enter into an exhibit of … what, I don’t know, maybe photos of gravestones and still lifes of dried, rotting fruit that’s been crushed by broken wagon wheels.

Moving on, there were some more striking photo portraits from Winans and nice selections from Eudora Welty, particularly “Self Portrait, 1934,” by Winans, and “Sunday School, Holiness Church, Jackson Miss.,” from 1939, by Welty. Moody, black-and-white images like these make me remember why there is still such an allure to film photography. The girls in Welty’s photo look simultaneously angelic and ghost-like."

I send everyone interested to the original post at ArtNella

Artists of the Great Depression and ULM Art Faculty Exhibit

Posted by Eric Lincoln on September 16th, 2009

Pictures of Eudora Welty

November 19th was a very special day - I received an email from Mary Alice White with a permission to use three pictures of Eudora Welty for my book! Mary Alice writes:

"I have attached some pictures of Eudora that you may use. These pictures of Eudora were taken in the 1930s and 1940s. If you choose the one taken by Kay Bell, please list her in the credit line. The picture at Wisconsin was her annual photograph. I'm not sure who took the others. I hope this helps, and I hope all is going well.
Mary Alice"

I love all the three pictures and I would like to use all of them in my book! The two pictures posted here are the ones I have never seen before. I am overwhelmed and very grateful! So, the posted pictures are COURTESY OF EUDORA WELTY, LLC

A Eudora Welty sory by Eugenia Summer

When Barbara Smith told Eugenia Summer that I am writting a book about Eudora Welty Eugenia gave me a book signed by Eudora Welty. It was a very generous gift in itself but then there was also a story to go with it. Here it goes. Eugenia Summer is now retired but all of her life and academic career is connected with Art and Design Depatrtmen of Mississippi University for Women.
Barbara Smith, then Whitaker, was Arts Student at "W" and she and Eugenia have been friends ever since.
Southerners like to talk and share their stories. Here is how Eugenia Summer shared it whith me back in Septmeber of this year. Eudora Welty was comming to "W" for Eudora Welty weekend. It was one of the weekedns dedicated to Southern Authors, she always came and stayed the whole weekend and she gave a talk to open the weekend. A friend of Eugenia Summer was flying from Washington to this event and Eugenia asked her to bring anything by Eudora Welty so that she would get the book signed. The friend was Mary Sharlote Stark, a renouned archivist, and the only book she could get was The Eye of the Story which she picked up at the airport bookstore. She wanted to get something with hard cover, but nothing else was available. As Mary Sharlote got on the plane she found that Eudora Welty was on the same plane and they got to talk with each other. When Mary Sharlote produced the book and asked for the signature Eudora Welty asked for the name and Eugenia's name was pronounced. Eudora Welty recognised the name since she met Eugenia in "W" during previous visits and signed the book.
When in "W" Eudora Welty was supposed to be driven around by another friend of Eugenia Summer but that friend's car would not start so she asked Eugenia if she would drive them around. Eugenia Summer gladly agreed. So at some point she found herself in the car together with Eudora Welty and she was overwhelmed for a moment and did not know what to talk about. "Eudora Welty sat in the front seat next to me . We had to wait about 15 minutes in front of some house. And all of a sudden Eudora Welty started to talk. She shared an experience she had once in a small airport (it might have been a city in Alabama or in Florida), where she had to change planes. There was one man there who took care of the airport and he and Eudora Welty started talking. He said that he was a farmer and that he liked to go fishing . Miss Welty asked him a lot of questions and he was happy to share about his life. By the end of their converstation the man was sorry his new friend did not have enough time otherwise he would have taken her to the farm. Eventually as they were parting he asked her name and she said "Eudora Welty". The man was pleased and said "That's a nice name. I have never heard it before. How do you spell it?". Eudora Welty was surprised but she did not show it. She really enjoyed the encounter, she said she wished she could go back and see his farm".
Eugenia Summer concluded her story: "I thought that here I am hearing a Eudora Welty story told in her own words. It is an ordinary occurance, but Eudora Welty really listens to everybody and she finds everybody interesting. I will never forget sitting in that car next to Eudora Welty and hearing her story".

Not Eudora's Favourite Place

Couple of days ago I emailed pictures taken in Jackson back in 1994 to Suzanne Marrs (Eudora Welty's excellent biographer) and asked if by some chance this was the Greek restaurant which Eudora Welty liked so much. The answer was great and funny. Suzanne wrote: "The pictures you attached were taken at Denery's Restaurant, and that was not Eudora's favorite place. She preferred Bill Burger House (aka Bill's Greek Tavern). There is a story about Dennery's however. It was this restaurant that refused to seat two rather long-haired students that Eudora took there. She and the two boys left, and she never returned".
Well, even if I knew the story back in 1994 the choice of the restaurant was not mine - I was the guest of Pastor Bill Gover and other members of Christ United Metodist Church. And I am certainly grateful for the great dinner and the connection to Eudora Welty!

The notes are done in pencil and it was special to get to see the books which Eudora Welty read.