Katherine Anne Porter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Katherine Anne Porter
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Porter in 1930
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| Born | Callie Russell Porter May 15, 1890 Indian Creek, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | September 18, 1980 (aged 90) Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
| Resting place | Indian Creek Cemetery, Texas |
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| Years active | 1920–1977 |
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Katherine Anne Porter (born May 15, 1890 – died September 18, 1980) was an American writer. She was a journalist, essayist, and novelist. Porter was most famous for her amazing short stories.
Her 1962 novel, Ship of Fools, was a bestseller in America. However, her short stories received more praise from critics.
About Katherine Anne Porter
Her Early Life and Family
Katherine Anne Porter was born Callie Russell Porter. She was born in Indian Creek, Texas. Her parents were Harrison Boone Porter and Mary Alice (Jones) Porter.
When Katherine was two years old, her mother passed away. Her father then took his four children to live with his mother. This was Catherine Ann Porter, who lived in Kyle, Texas. Katherine later took her grandmother's name. Her grandmother had a big influence on her.
Katherine loved to make up stories about her family history. She often said she was related to famous people. For example, she claimed to be related to the writer O. Henry. But this was not true. Her family found her stories amusing.
After her grandmother died, Katherine's family moved often. They lived in different towns in Texas and Louisiana. She went to free schools wherever they lived. In 1904, she attended a private school for one year. This was her only formal education beyond grammar school.
Becoming a Writer
In 1906, at age sixteen, Katherine married John Henry Koontz. They later divorced in 1915. In 1914, she worked briefly as an extra in movies in Chicago. She then became an actress and singer in Texas. In 1915, she officially changed her name to Katherine Anne Porter.
Around 1915, she was told she had tuberculosis. She spent two years in special hospitals. During this time, she decided to become a writer. It turned out she had bronchitis, not TB.
In 1917, she started writing for the Fort Worth Critic. She wrote about plays and society news. In 1918, she wrote for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado. That same year, Katherine became very sick during the 1918 flu pandemic. She almost died. When she left the hospital, she was weak and had lost all her hair. When her hair grew back, it was white. This experience inspired her short novels, Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939).
First Published Works
In 1919, Porter moved to New York City. She worked as a ghostwriter and wrote children's stories. In 1920, she went to Mexico. There, she met people involved in social movements. She later became less interested in these movements.
Between 1920 and 1930, Porter traveled between Mexico and New York. She began publishing her short stories and essays. Her first story, "María Concepción", appeared in The Century Magazine.
In 1930, she published her first collection of short stories. It was called Flowering Judas and Other Stories. An expanded version came out in 1935. This collection was highly praised. It helped her become a well-known American writer.
A Distinguished Writing Career
During the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Katherine Anne Porter was a respected writer. She didn't write a lot, and her books didn't sell huge numbers. So, she often lived on grants and money given to her in advance.
She spent several years in Europe in the 1930s. She continued to publish short stories. She married Eugene Pressly in 1930. In 1938, she divorced Pressly and married Albert Russel Erskine, Jr. He reportedly divorced her in 1942. This was after he found out her real age, which was 20 years older than him.
Porter became a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1943. She also taught writing at several universities. These included the University of Chicago and the University of Michigan.
From 1948 to 1958, she taught at Stanford University and the University of Texas. Her unique teaching style made her popular with students. In 1959, the Ford Foundation gave her $26,000. This helped her for two years.
Some of Porter's stories were made into radio dramas. "Noon Wine" was a drama in 1948. Later, "Flowering Judas" and "Pale Horse, Pale Rider" became radio plays. Porter also appeared on radio and television shows. She talked about literature.
Her Famous Novel and Awards
Porter published her only novel, Ship of Fools, in 1962. It was based on a ship cruise she took in 1931 from Mexico to Germany. The novel was a huge success. It finally gave her financial security. She reportedly sold the film rights for $500,000. The book was made into a movie in 1965. The film starred Vivien Leigh.
In 1966, Porter won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She also won the U.S. National Book Award. Both awards were for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. That same year, she joined the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times.
In 1966, Katherine Anne Porter gave her writings and other items to the University of Maryland. A special room was opened there to keep her books and belongings.
In 1977, she published The Never-Ending Wrong. This book was about the famous trial and execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. She had protested against this event 50 years earlier.
Later Life and Passing
Katherine Anne Porter had a severe stroke in 1977. She passed away in Silver Spring, Maryland, on September 18, 1980. She was 90 years old. Her ashes were buried next to her mother in Texas. In 1990, a special marker was placed in Texas to honor her life and work.
Awards and Honors
- 1966 – Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Collected Stories (1965)
- 1966 – National Book Award for The Collected Stories (1965)
- 1967 – Gold Medal Award for Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Five nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968)
- 2006 – Porter was featured on a States postage stamp. It was issued on May 15, 2006.
Her Published Works
Short Story Collections
- Flowering Judas (1930). This book included eight of her first short stories.
- Flowering Judas and Other Stories (1935). This expanded edition added four more stories.
- Pale Horse, Pale Rider: Three Short Novels (1939). This book had three stories Porter called "short novels." They were "Old Mortality," "Noon Wine," and "Pale Horse, Pale Rider."
- The Leaning Tower and Other Stories (1944). This collection included nine of her short stories.
- The Old Order: Stories of the South (1955). This book had ten of her stories that took place in the American South.
- The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (1964). This book included all twenty-six of her published short stories.
Novel
- Ship of Fools (1962). This was her only novel.
Nonfiction Books
- The Days Before (1952). This book included many of Porter's book reviews and essays.
- The Collected Essays and Occasional Writings of Katherine Anne Porter (1970).
Books Published After Her Death
- Letters of Katherine Anne Porter (1990). This book contained parts of over 250 letters she wrote.
- "This Strange, Old World" and Other Book Reviews Written by Katherine Anne Porter (1991). This included almost 50 book reviews she published.
- Uncollected Early Prose of Katherine Anne Porter (1993). This had twenty-nine of her early writings.
- Katherine Anne Porter's Poetry (1996). This book included all thirty-two poems she published.
- Porter: Collected Stories and Other Writings (2008). This book had all her collected stories and other writings.
- Selected Letters of Katherine Anne Porter: Chronicles of a Modern Woman (2012). This included over 130 complete letters she wrote.
Other Publications
- My Chinese Marriage by Mae Franking (1921). Porter helped write this book.
- Outline of Mexican Popular Arts and Crafts (1922).
- Katherine Anne Porter's French Song Book (1933). This book had seventeen French songs and her English translations.
- A Christmas Story (1967). This was a story about her niece.
- The Never-Ending Wrong (1977). This book shared her thoughts on the 1927 executions of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
See also
In Spanish: Katherine Anne Porter para niños
