[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 103 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H4409-H4410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO THE LATE EUDORA WELTY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Otter). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. WICKER. Mr. Speaker, many of my colleagues may not yet be aware 
of the death earlier today of one of America's giants. Eudora Welty 
died this afternoon in Jackson, Mississippi, at the age of 92. Her 
literary career spanned portions of 7 decades, and her awards and 
decorations place her among the superstars of American literature.
  Her novel, The Optimist's Daughter, earned her the 1973 Pulitzer 
Prize for fiction. In addition, her honors included four O. Henry 
prizes, the National Book Foundation Medal, the American Academy of 
Arts and Letters William Dean Howells Medal, the National Institute of 
Arts and Letters Gold Medal for the Novel, the American Book Award for 
Literature, the American Book Award for Paperback Fiction, the Phi Beta 
Kappa Association Award, and many more.
  It is a point of personal pride for me that Miss Welty was a native 
Mississippian, having been born in Jackson in 1909 and educated in the 
public schools of our State, as well as at Mississippi University for 
Women in Columbus. For years, we Mississippians have considered Eudora 
Welty our State's preeminent citizen. May 2 is annually celebrated in 
Mississippi as Eudora Welty Day.
  Mississippians are also proud of the fact that she has been 
increasingly recognized throughout America as a national treasure. She 
was appointed to the National Council on the Arts by President Nixon in 
1972, and she twice received the Freedom Medal of Honor from Presidents 
Carter and Reagan.
  Beyond her acclaim in her native America, Miss Welty's works have 
been translated into virtually every European language, as well as 
Russian and Japanese. She has been recognized by many heads of state. 
In 1987, Eudora Welty was knighted, knighted, by the Nation of France; 
and in January 1996, Miss Welty was presented with the French Legion of 
Honor.
  Eudora Welty understood not only the South, but the complex family 
relationships and individual struggles against adversity which have 
combined to give our country its rich texture. Her works of fantasy and 
tall tale narration included two of my favorites, The Robber Bridegroom 
and The Ponder Heart, which have been adapted for the Broadway stage, 
but which are still read aloud in the Wicker household.
  Mr. Speaker, over the next few days and weeks the publicity 
concerning the life of Eudora Welty will perhaps assist a new 
generation of students and young people in appreciating the 
extraordinary life and accomplishments of this remarkable American. 
Perhaps I will be able to express in a more adequate way the admiration 
and kinship that I feel for her as a fellow Mississippian.
  Suffice it for now to say that her work sparked the imagination of 
countless readers around the globe, that she universalized the Southern 
experience and made it relevant to people beyond the region's 
boundaries, and that her life and her life's work are worthy of our 
heartfelt praise and gratitude.
  Now, with the indulgence of the Chair and my other colleagues in the 
Chamber, I am pleased to yield to my friend and colleague, the 
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Shows).
  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, today I stand before you, my colleagues, and the 
American people with sad news. One of our Nation's greatest writers has 
passed away. Earlier today Eudora Welty died. Miss Eudora lived in my 
district down in Jackson.
  Miss Eudora will always live, Mr. Speaker, in the hearts of thousands 
around our planet who have read her words discovering a world of 
penetrating thought, stark memories and prose that can bring the angels 
to Earth and soothe our longings to connect with our broader world.
  Eudora Welty grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. She spent her entire 
life living and writing in Jackson. But her words were and are 
universal. Miss Eudora knew her home, and she could pen her thoughts in 
a way that made the South and Mississippi a place in all our hearts. 
One cannot begin to adequately address how she could make us feel, 
euphoric at once and then again nostalgic and magic.
  Ms. Eudora wrote about a ``sense of place,'' who we are and how our 
world, the dirt, people around us, the humidity and the community made 
us unique. She made us remember home, and she led us to realize the 
good and the bad in our society. And for this, we could read and learn 
and strive to be better.
  Eudora Welty won a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for The Optimist's 
Daughter. She was also the recipient of the National Medal for 
Literature in 1980 and a National Medal of Arts in 1987. Her work is 
recognizable by nearly everyone: A Curtain of Green, The Wide Net, The 
Robber Bridegroom, Ponder Heart, and Delta Wedding, to name only a few. 
Her work to this day is widely published in French and other languages, 
as well as in English.
  Miss Eudora experienced and saw her world, the American South of the 
20th century, with a keen eye and ready pen. She put her feelings and 
observations on paper in what can only be described as brilliance. A 
reader of a Welty piece is forever changed, forever touched by the 
human experience.
  Eudora Welty took on a life with a zeal for truth, and she took the 
truth and made it real on paper. Ms. Eudora was born in 1909 and was 
educated at Mississippi State College for Women, now the Mississippi 
University for Women, and also at the University of Wisconsin. She 
lived through the Great Depression, snapping black and white 
photographs of Mississippi scenes for President Roosevelt's WPA 
Program. She experienced World War II, the economic expansion of the 
fifties, the change of the sixties, and continued through the 
seventies, eighties and nineties, until she passed away today, July 23, 
2001.
  So much history and change occurred during this remarkable life. But 
Ms. Eudora, through it all, realized that the human experience 
remained. She saw the pain and the triumph, the celebration and the 
agony, and Ms. Eudora has given us the great gift of place, memory, and 
humanity.
  Ms. Eudora was an icon. She, through her grace, gentleness and 
greatness, has given so many Mississippians a role model. Ms. Eudora, 
through her life and writings, has given thousands a kind of permission 
to strive for their dreams.
  Mr. Speaker, I do not think her curtain of green has closed with her 
passing, but rather has opened; has opened wide, so that all of us can 
continue to embrace the characters, places, and events she told us 
about. The curtain of green is open wide for us today, as it will be 
for all countless generations to come.
  Mr. WICKER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I will simply close by 
saying our colleagues, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) 
and the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering), were on the floor 
earlier and expressed their regret at not being able to stay for this 
presentation and this

[[Page H4410]]

moment of observance. They will be submitting remarks for the Record 
later on.
  I will simply close today with the words of a fellow Mississippian, 
William R. Ferris, Chairman of the National Endowment of the 
Humanities, who said this afternoon, ``Eudora Welty's mastery of 
language was unparalleled, and her unswerving commitment to her craft 
as a writer will inspire future generations. We mourn the loss of a 
truly great writer and friend whose love and compassion enriched us 
all.''

                          ____________________