Flannery O'Connor finally speaks, direct from Lafayette. What we're reading. The best horror stories and a sensory visit to the Eudora Welty House in Literary News. Zora Neale Hurston on fashion in (Non)Required Reading. Accolades for Deep South writers & a poem about the ghostly wives of Jefferson Davis in Southern Voice. Happy Literary Friday!
Today is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty's birthday. She would have been 102. For 75 years, Eudora lived and wrote at 1119 Pinehurst St. in Jackson, Mississippi. Restored after her death in 2001 and now a National Historic Landmark, the home is open for tours by reservation and displays her book collection (it's been said that family and friends had to move books if they wanted to sit down), old desk and typewriter and charming Southern garden, noted for its roses and camellias. Photos aren't allowed inside the home, but when we toured last year, we were able to get shots of her garden, exterior of the house and the playhouse where a young Eudora spent time making up plays and hanging out with her friends. To schedule a tour of the Eudora Welty House, call 601-353-7762. Tours are given at 9 and 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and cost $5 for adults and $3 for students. Children under 6 get in free.