Introduction & Overview of Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty

Why I Live at the P.O. Introduction

Eudora Welty's "Why I Live at the P.O." was inspired by a lady ironing in the back room of a small rural post office who Welty glimpsed while working as publicity photographer in the mid-1930s. Wetly had just started to write, and the story, which appeared in Atlantic magazine in 1941, was among the first she published. It was also included in her first collection of short stories, A Curtain of Green, which appeared that same year. Though Welty writes in many different styles and moods, "Why I Live at the P.O." is representative of her masterful evocation of vital, idiosyncratic southern speech. Both dark and hilarious, "Why I Live at the P.O." is one of Welty's most beloved stories and one of her own favorites. Throughout her long career she has frequently chosen it when invited to read from her work.

"Why I Live at the P.O." takes...
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