The Atlantic Monthly published this story in April 1941 on pages 443-50. "Why I Live at the P.O." was the second story of Welty's to appear in the Atlantic Monthly; it followed the February appearance of "A Worn Path" and preceded the publication of "Powerhouse" in June 1941. According to Kreyling (1991), the acceptance of these three stories by the Atlantic Monthly signaled the clear arrival of Welty on the national literary scene. This advance in Welty's literary stature also fulfilled a major aspiration for her literary agent, Diarmuid Russell, who predicted such national acclaim would insure for Welty the publication of a book, and so it did. The story was included in Welty's first collection of short stories, A Curtain of Green, published in November of 1941 by Doubleday, Doran. The first British edition of A Curtain of Green appeared in July 1943, published by the Bodley Head.

Although it...