One Writer's Beginnings

“I live in gratitude to my parents for initiating me—and as early as I begged for it, without keeping me waiting—into knowledge of the word, into reading and spelling, by way of the alphabet.”

Welty thanks her parents for giving her access to words and reading at an early age. The alphabet represents more than letters—it marks the beginning of discovery and learning. This quote shows how Memory and Childhood as Creative Resources gave her a foundation that she would use throughout her writing career.

“Learning stamps you with its moments. Childhood’s learning is made up of moments. It isn’t steady. It’s a pulse.”

By calling childhood learning a “pulse,” Welty suggests that discovery arrives in sharp, memorable bursts rather than in steady growth. This rhythm captures how memory works—we remember the moments of intensity, not the long stretches in between. The metaphor emphasizes how important it is to notice and honor those flashes of understanding, even if they seem small at the time. In terms of Attention as Ethical Practice, this shows Welty’s conviction that meaning comes from paying close attention to such fleeting insights. As a writer, she drew on these pulses, shaping them into stories that reveal how ordinary moments can hold extraordinary significance.