The relationship between a text and its audiences is ever evolving. Noted for keenly evoking the past, Eudora Welty’s photographs and writings also signpost sensibilities and perspectives that transcend the author’s time. Welty affirms in One Writer's Beginnings, “time is . . . the continuous thread of revelation,” a statement signaling an artist's ability to capture or reproduce the recursiveness of time. If we read the past to make sense of the present or to anticipate the future, how does Welty’s legacy as a 20^th-century artist translate to future formations of text? Welty asserts in “The Radiance of Jane Austen” about fiction what could easily apply to all art: “The future of fiction is a mystery; it is like the future of ourselves.”

Having entered a new century of Welty studies, the Eudora Welty Society in partnership with Millsaps College invites presentations that explore futurist Welty, specifically her own pliable treatment of time as well as any putatively current topic, trend, event, or issue that eclipses the limits of Welty’s lifetime. To what extent has Welty already written or photographed the future? This call does not require papers to prove the prescience of Welty’s prose and pictures, although these discussions are certainly welcome. This conference seeks to examine what Welty’s creations continue to reveal about our past, present, and future selves.

While addressing the topic of future Welty, we look forward to new dispatches from the Welty archives as well as fresh approaches on teaching Welty's work. Other topics include but are not limited to reading The Golden Apples in the 21st century, Digital Welty, and comparisons of Welty’s work with contemporary fine arts and media interactions/adaptations. We also invite discussions of Welty’s treatment of education/educators, prisons/incarceration, civic unrest, children/child welfare, travel, disability, the elderly, race, gender, sexuality, class, environment/ecocriticism, historical events/narratives, humor/comedy, etc. In addition, the issue of influence, on and by Welty, such as her impact on the Mississippi Renaissance writers (Lewis Nordan, Natasha Trethewey, Jesmyn Ward, etc.) are welcome. For these topics, presenters might ask: how is Welty’s work conversant with 20^th/21^st century writers, artists, and past luminaries? In general, the conference asks for 21^st century presentations and discussions of Welty’s 20^th century productions.

While panels/presentations will occur April 10-12, additional special conference-related events will be happening on April 9 and April 13—Welty’s 116^th birthday. We anticipate research sessions at the MDAH and tours at the Museum of Mississippi History, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, and at the Eudora Welty and Medger Evers houses, among other unique Jackson experiences.

Paper and panel proposals should be sent to Michael Pickard (pickawm@millsaps.edu), Harriet Pollack (pollackh@cofc.edu), and Rebecca Harrison (rharriso@westga.edu) by October 15, 2024. For more information, check the Eudora Welty Society website and Facebook page.