One Time, One Place

Eudora Welty is among the very few authors acclaimed for their work in both literature and photography. In 1971 she surprised her readers with this important book, for in One Time, One Place many of them learned for the first time that this revered writer was also a gifted photographer. One Time, One Place is the only book of Welty’s where she selected all images. Throughout her writing career, Welty’s camera was a close companion. The one hundred pictures included here are for the first time digitally scanned to maximize the contrast and beauty of her vision. These are her selections from many she took during the Great Depression as she traveled in her home state of Mississippi. These pictures are poignant images of human endurance. For her, looking back, they showed a record of a time and a place, an impoverished world that against great odds sustained a sense of community. Both Black and white, the men, women, and children she photographed, unaware that they are coping with dire conditions, press onward with their lives. “The Depression, in fact,” Welty says in her introduction, “was not a noticeable phenomenon in the poorest state in the Union.”

The foreword by William Maxwell, Eudora Welty’s dear friend and esteemed colleague in literature, offers an appreciation of this photographer’s special genius and a loving glimpse into her artistic world. This new version of One Time, One Place keeps the original photos and foreword intact, while providing higher quality versions of the classic images.

Author Biography

Eudora Welty is the author of many novels and story collections, including The Optimist’s Daughter (winner of the Pulitzer Prize), Losing Battles, The Ponder Heart, The Robber Bridegroom, A Curtain of Green and Other Stories, as well as collections of her photographic work—Photographs and Country Churchyards, both published by University Press of Mississippi.