Tag: #Southernwomen

Oh, Eudora!

Eudora Welty is an iconic Southern writer who brought life to every single word she ever wrote.

When many of us think of Eudora Welty, we probably picture an older lady with silver hair and endless words of wisdom. However, just like us, Welty was once a child too. Her insight was gained through life experiences and influenced by the culture of the Mississippi Delta.

Her words became almost tangible to readers when there was only text, and they often instilled hope and humor during eras of great despair.

The Beginnings of Eudora Welty

Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, on North Congress Street, Eudora Welty was the oldest of three children and a prominent insurance executive’s daughter. Perhaps her love of reading and writing began at an early age, as it has been said that her Mother once risked her life to save her collection of Dickens novels from a house fire!

“I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them–with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.” — Eudora on her work

Unlike many iconic writers, Welty was not a tortured artist; her childhood was pretty ideal. After attending college at the Mississippi State College for Women, The University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Columbia University, Welty finally returned home to her beloved Mississippi.

The Great Documentarian

Returning to Jackson brought challenges as she struggled to find solid job prospects in 1931. She worked in radio and newspaper before signing on as a publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration. This position required her to travel the back roads of rural Mississippi, taking pictures and writing press releases. She might have taken this job out of necessity at first; however, these trips connected her with the same people who would soon shape her short stories and novels and developed her deep love for photography.

Welty’s longtime friend and fellow writer William Maxwell once said: “It obliged her to go where she would not otherwise have gone and see people and places she might not ever have seen. A writer’s material derives nearly always from experience. Because of this job, she came to know the state of Mississippi by heart and could never come to the end of what she might want to write about.”

It has been said that even if Welty never published a single word, she would have likely secured her legacy as a gifted documentarian of the Great Depression through her photographs of that time.

Passion & Heart

Eudora Welty had a tremendous heart. Her observation skills and ability to connect with people were unmatched. Welty attributes much of this to observing her parents as a young child simply because she loved them.

“Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an early form of participation in what goes on. Listening children know stories are there. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole.” ― Eudora Welty, One Writer’s Beginnings

Much like real life, all of Welty’s characters are flawed. Aren’t we all? However, despite their flaws, she still wanted the best for them. You can feel the passion and belief she instills in her characters in almost all of her stories.

Welty was not a Civil Rights activist during the 1960s, and she took quite a bit of criticism for being too quiet during the earlier years of the Civil Rights Movement. However, Welty’s power and voice came from her pen when she wrote: “Where is the Voice Coming From?” Welty wrote this piece overnight in June of 1963 after hearing the tragic news that Medgar Evers had been assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi.

“Where is the Voice Coming From?” is a story narrated by the man who had killed Evers. Welty wrote this, of course, before Byron de la Beckwith had been identified and charged with the crime.

Her imaginative portrayal of the murderer was so accurate that before she published it, she revised it to move the setting from Jackson. The title of her story asks readers where that voice, this voice of hatred and prejudice…where does it come from?

Mississippi Made

Mississippi’s geography, history, culture, and politics are a powerful presence throughout Welty’s writing career. The novel Delta Wedding (1946) and the story “Powerhouse” are set in the Mississippi Delta. Her best-selling book, Losing Battles (1970), is set in the kudzu-covered hills of northeast Mississippi.

Welty was known as one of America’s greatest writers. This title earned Eudora many national and international honors, including a Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel, “The Optimist’s Daughter.”

“Colleges keep inviting me because I’m so well behaved,” Welty once remarked in explaining her popularity at the podium. “I’m always on time, and I don’t get drunk or hole up in a hotel with my lover.” That type of dry wit and modesty was a trademark of Ms. Welty’s!

Eudora Welty’s words are her legacy.

Welty never married or had children and was often mocked for her quiet and simple life. Welty didn’t fit the stereotype of a literary genius as she was not the tortured artist type, nor did she live that kind of lifestyle. Welty was quiet, humble, and did not seek fame, status, or riches. She lived in the same house for more than 70 years! And spoke with anyone who wanted to talk with her; in fact, it was not uncommon for her to invite them in for a chat.

These recollections of Eudora’s social graces are not surprising! She was a woman and a writer who connected so well with not only Mississippi but also the world around her! How else could she write about people and relationships in such a beautiful and authentic manner if she wasn’t truly connecting with people herself?

“As you have seen, I am a writer who came of a sheltered life, a sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within.”

In one of her final interviews before her death in 2001, Eudora Welty was at her home and made a profound comment about her garden in proper Eudora form. “The garden is gone. It makes me ill to look at it. But I’m not complaining. It’s just the state of things.” Welty adored gardening, and mentions over 150 different kinds of plants in her writings.

What a blessing it is to have the words of this wise and wonderful woman to inspire us in our relationships with people and our gardens of life.

September 21, 2021
The Origin Story of Steel Magnolias

Have you watched Steel Magnolias lately?

The other night I popped some popcorn, grabbed a Coke Zero, and indulged my Southern female senses to the very max! Don’t worry, I didn’t forget the tissue–because we all know we need a few–dozen when watching this iconic film.

I’ve watched this film many times, but after watching it, I decided to learn more about its background as a play. Prepare yourself to laugh and cry while reading my findings. You might as well go ahead and grab some tissues too!

The Creation of Steel Magnolias

Steel Magnolias was originally a play written by Robert Harling, a true Southerner hailing from Louisiana. Harling based the work on his experience of his sister Susan dying from complications arising from Type 1 diabetes. He reimagined the last three years of her life as a play to process his grief, with encouragement from the acting class workshop he attended in New York City.

Harling originally wrote it as a short story to share with his nephew, and within ten days, his short story evolved into an entire play. In fact, one of Nicole Kidman’s earliest roles in her career was the part of Shelby in Harling’s original Steel Magnolias play.

When the play gained popularity, Ray Stark bought the film rights and began developing a movie adaptation with help from Gene Callahan, an old friend from Louisiana. Steel Magnolias would later be filmed in Natchitoches, Lousiana, Robert Harling’s hometown.

Hello Hollywood!

The play had been such a success on Broadway that Bette Davis herself met with Harling and requested that she star in the movie and Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor too! Wow, what a cast that would have been!

During the film’s shoot, a major Hollywood writers’ strike occurred, and Robert Harling could not be involved in any rewrites. So, he did what any sincerely invested playwright would do: he visited the set incognito to stay involved with his passion project.

I can’t imagine anyone else other than Julia Roberts portraying Shelby. However, she was third in line for the role, after Meg Ryan and Winona Ryder. Robert Harling said, “She walked into the room, and that smile lit everything up, and I said, ‘that’s my sister,’ so she joined the party, and she was magnificent.”

The Authenticity of Steel Magnolias

If you have seen the film, then you know the main character, Shelby is sick. We all know these scenes are coming; however, they always trigger such real emotions, don’t they?

Perhaps, part of this is that instead of using actors to play the hospital staff who care for Shelby, filmmakers asked real doctors and nurses to fill these roles. Not only that, but the medical staff that appeared in the film were the same ones that cared for Robert Harling’s sister Susan during her final days.

The nurse who turns off Shelby’s life support in the film was played by the real-life nurse who provided palliative care for Susan. Despite being a scene that must have hit very close to home, Robert Harling’s mother insisted on being on set while Shelby’s death was filmed. His mother also insisted on staying until the end to see Julia Roberts get up and walk away once filming stopped. Not only did Harling write a successful play about his sister, a strong woman, it is clear that his mother was also a true steel magnolia.

Did you know the name Steel Magnolias comes from the hidden strength of what at first seem like extremely delicate flowers?

In a 2017 interview, writer Robert Harling said, “My mother would always say to handle magnolia blossoms carefully because they bruise so easily.” This combination of steeliness and gentleness inspired the name of his award-winning play and subsequent film. As we all know, the leading ladies of this film are both beautiful and delicate and as tough as steel.

Fun Facts

The historic house in which Steel Magnolias was filmed is a bed and breakfast where fans can book themselves for the night. Looking for a fun girls’ trip? Its website promises a “traditional bed and breakfast experience, with a full breakfast, along with true Southern hospitality.” Who is ready for an authentic Steel Magnolia experience?

In the original Steel Magnolias stage play, all of the action takes place in the beauty salon. So when the set director went looking for the perfect, quirky beauty shop to film in, she found one right there in town!

When she approached the owner about filming there, she promised to purchase her all new equipment when filming concluded. She stayed faithful to her word and revamped the local beauty shop after borrowing the old version of the store for the movie.

Speaking of beauty, both Dolly Parton and Daryl Hannah had to study hairdressing to avoid any burns, miscuts, or slip-ups while in character.

Who wants Dolly to do their hair? I know I do!

There were no men at all in the original stage play. Just like the characters in the film, the leading figures in the play form close female friendships. However, one key difference makes the action and dialogue in the play all the more unusual. Although the play characters do speak about men, no man ever sets foot on the stage.

The director of the film, Hebert Ross, was notorious for being quite critical and challenging. The all-star female cast’s bond grew stronger and stronger as they continued to support each other throughout the movie’s filming.

Harling said that he raced through writing the Steel Magnolias script, finishing it all in one go.

“The events that inspired it were so powerful that, after I found the story arena, it just poured out into my typewriter in a 24/7 tsunami of Southernness.”

Thank you, Mr. Harling, for your tsunami of Southerness. Thirty-two years later, we are still moved by your words and positive representation of strong female roles. What a wonderful reminder to not only strive to be a steel magnolia but to also recognize and appreciate the steel magnolias in our own lives.

Who are the southern Steel Magnolias in your life?

Editor’s note – credit to some of our favorite Southern publications including Country Living and Garden & Gun for their interviews with Harling.

June 27, 2021