Eudora Welty Foundation

Abstract

Eudora Welty Foundation Jeanne B. Luckett The Eudora Welty Foundation's 2020 organizational, educational, and public activities were impacted considerably by the Coronavirus pandemic. Many events were canceled, and others were reformatted to assure safety for participants. In spite of these necessary accommodations, appreciation for Welty's works and enthusiasm for connecting with others who had similar interests kept the Welty Foundation busy. Likewise, when all public events at the Welty House & Garden scheduled from March 23 through May were canceled by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the staff of the Welty House & Garden developed innovative means of connecting with visitors as circumstances and regulations permitted. Gradually, following safety protocols, the public was permitted to take unguided free tours of the Welty Garden, and in July, limited tours of the Welty House & Garden resumed. Working together, the Welty Foundation and the House & Garden, along with Millsaps College and other partners, offered creative programming during this most challenging year. As was the case with many other organizations, the internet played an important role in our communication. Authors Sarah Broom and Kiese Laymon Discuss Their Memoirs Before the pandemic necessitated programming changes, authors Sarah M. Broom and Kiese Laymon presented a discussion on their memoirs at Millsaps College on February 25, 2020. Broom's memoir, The Yellow House, received a 2019 National Book Award among other honors. Laymon's Heavy received the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction in addition to other awards. The discussion was sponsored by the Millsaps Visiting Writers Series; the Eudora Welty Foundation; the Millsaps Center for Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation; and the Center for Art and Public Exchange at the Mississippi Museum of Art. [End Page 275] Jolly Lecture with Ron Rash Canceled; Other Rash Book Events Held The annual Bettye Jolly Lecture, scheduled March 19, 2020, with award-winning poet and fiction writer Ron Rash, was the first event to be canceled. The Foundation anticipates rescheduling Rash for the Lecture as soon as circumstances permit. On April 13, 2020, Eudora's birthday, Rash's short story collection Something Rich and Strange was the subject of the monthly Brown Bag Book discussion moderated by Welty scholar Suzanne Marrs. Usually held over lunch at the Welty Education and Visitors Center, the discussion was the first virtual program coordinated by the Welty House & Garden staff and offered via Google Hangouts. Later in the year, Rash's latest book, In the Valley, a selection of short stories and a novella based on his best-selling book Serena, was scheduled as the January-February 2021 selection for the virtual Welty-at-Home Book Club. Spring Plant Sale Canceled, Replaced with Plant Purchase Opportunities Set for April 11, 2020, the annual Spring Plant Sale, benefitting the Welty Garden and usually featuring some plants propagated from those grown in the Garden, was canceled. But heirloom plants cultivated by the Welty House staff, Cereus Weeders, and other volunteers, were made available for sale at the Welty Education and Visitors Center. Scholastic Writing Award Winners Honored by Video and Through Mail Scheduled for April 19, 2020, to honor 321 winners from around the state, the Scholastic Writing Awards ceremony, generously supported with a grant from the C Spire Foundation, was canceled. The keynote speaker, author Maurice Carlos Ruffin, 2020-21 Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi, recorded a video of his remarks which was sent to the award winners. A transcript of the talk was provided on the Welty Foundation website. Certificates were mailed to the honorees, and all gold medalists received a copy of A Daring Life: A Biography of Eudora Welty by Carolyn Brown, through the generosity of Jean Nicholson Medley, Welty Foundation Board member. The 2021 Scholastic Writing program began September 1 with packets distributed to teachers statewide, and the deadline for entries was December 15, 2020, according to program administrator Sally Birdsall. [End Page 276] Virtual Welty-at-Home Book Club Attracts Nationwide Audience Making use of the audio and video conferencing platform Zoom, the Welty House & Garden staff, working with Welty biographer and scholar Suzanne Marrs, developed plans for a virtual book club focused on Welty but exploring other authors' works as...