Tim Gautreaux was born in Morgan City, Louisiana, in 1947. He received his PhD in poetry at the University of South Carolina and taught at Southeastern Louisiana University. Though Gautreaux has stated that he has little interest in autobiographical writing, his stories and novels draw inspiration from his experiences growing up in Louisiana and from his knowledge of Cajun culture. For instance, Gautreaux’s novel The Next Step in the Dance details the 1980s oil bust in Louisiana, which he witnessed growing up. His second novel, The Clearing, draws from the stories he heard from uncles who fought in World War I. His stories, including “Welding with Children,” also draw from personal experiences. For example, Gautreaux often features older people in his stories because of his encounters with single parents in his college classes whose children were often taken care of by the grandparents. Gautreaux was also inspired by his experiences growing up with older family members.

While Gautreaux seems to draw inspiration from Southern traditions, he resists being labeled a Southern writer. Nevertheless, Gautreaux has admitted he is a “moralist” and a “Catholic writer in the tradition of Walker Percy” (“A Conversation with Tim Gautreaux.” The Atlantic, 1997).