One of Eudora Welty’s most loved short stories, “A Worn Path” is the tale of an elderly black woman’s long walk to town at Christmastime to purchase medicine for her sick grandson. According Welty, the creative stimulus for the story came from the “indelible” image of an old black woman she once saw crossing a wintry field. The theme of the story, the author explained, is “the deep-grained habit of love.”
On Friday, December 7 at 12:00, Dr. Michael Crews will lead a discussion of this remarkable short story in the Library Conference Room. Distance students and faculty are invited to join the discussion via Collaborate Ultra videoconference.
First published in in 1941 in the Atlantic Monthly magazine, “A Worn Path” is available free on the Atlantic website. The story is only 3,276 words and can be read in about 15 minutes.
But wait! Say your research has required so much reading lately, that you can’t manage even that. You have two other options:
- A recording of Welty reading her story on YouTube.
- An excellent film adaptations (with most of the dialog taken right from the story) available from FMG Films on Demand (Regent login credentials required).
So you have no excuse to miss this opportunity in literature appreciation!