Starting Monday, September 11, we will spend several weeks reading and discussing a selection of works inspired by Medgar Evers, including Eudora Welty's "Where Is the Voice Coming From?," Margaret Walker's poem "Micah," and Frank X Walker's collection of poems Turn Me Loose. This series takes place in the sixtieth year after Evers' assassination, and closely follows the June 2023 unveiling of the new permanent exhibit at the Eudora Welty House & Garden titled "Out of Outrage: Processing the Murder of Medgar Evers." Discussions will be led by Suzanne Marrs, professor emerita at Millsaps College and Welty's friend and biographer.
Please note that for "Where Is the Voice Coming From?" and "The Demonstrators," we will be referencing page numbers in the Library of America volume Eudora Welty: Stories, Essays, and Memoir; however, these works are also available in The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty. Check your favorite public library or independent bookstore for Frank X Walker's 2013 collection of poems, Turn Me Loose. Other texts will be provided during the course of the class in the #WeltyatHome newsletter. If you received emails for previous Welty at Home book clubs, you are already registered for this free event and will begin receiving emails for this series weekly on Fridays starting Friday, September 8. Otherwise, please email info@eudoraweltyhouse.com to register and receive the emails with the Zoom links and recordings.
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Reading Schedule:
September 11: "Where Is the Voice Coming From?" by Eudora Welty. (Out of her own outrage and drawing on the tradition of the unreliable narrator, Welty chose to tell this story in the voice of an assassin. That character’s language is racist and hate-filled. Please take care while reading.)
September 18: "Micah" by Margaret Walker and "Only a Pawn in Their Game" by Bob Dylan
September 25: Turn Me Loose by Frank X Walker
October 2: Turn Me Loose by Frank X Walker
October 9: "The Demonstrators" by Eudora Welty
October 16: OFF
October 23: Placing works by Welty, Margaret Walker, Bob Dylan, and Frank X Walker in conversation
