Introduction


Katherine Anne Porter

Katherine Anne Porter did it all. She worked as a critic, a singer, an actress, and (most important of all) a writer. She built an impressive literary career despite relatively humble beginnings. Having completed only grammar school, she sought out the majority of her education independently. Through numerous marriages, divorces, and other personal crises, Porter established herself as a serious author whose works celebrated the perspective of women while illuminating more general issues of humanity and relationships. An often-quoted and outspoken figure, Porter became more conservative in her later years but never stopped challenging readers. Though she is best known for the novel Ship of Fools, it was her short story collection, The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter, that won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1966.

Essential Facts

  1. Porter, whose father’s middle name was Boone, claimed to be a descendant of historical figure Daniel Boone, yet no evidence has ever been found to support that claim.
  2. Porter was born Callie Russell Porter. She changed her name in part to escape from her physically abusive first husband.
  3. Rumors continue to circle about Porter’s thwarted desire to have a child. Suggestions of miscarriages, stillbirths, hysterectomies, and infertility have been put forth, but no single theory can be corroborated by Porter’s personal writings.
  4. Porter’s one and only novel, Ship of Fools, was a huge success and was turned into an Oscar-nominated film in 1965.
  5. Porter frequently stated that she often set out to write strictly autobiographical material, but her creative instincts for storytelling always took her down different roads.
 

Recommended Resources

  1. Katherine Anne Porter - Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  2. Katherine Anne Porter - Short Story Criticism
  3. Letters of Katherine Anne Porter Review - Callie Russell Porter
  4. Ship of Fools Study Guide (eNotes)
  5. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Study Guide (eNotes)

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. Caroline Gordon Criticism | Katherine Anne Porter (review Date 31 March 1937)
  2. Flowering Judas Summary and Study Guide - Katherine Anne Porter
  3. He Summary and Study Guide - Katherine Anne Porter
  4. Katherine Anne Porter - Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  5. Katherine Anne Porter - Short Story Criticism
  6. Katherine Anne Porter Biography
  7. Katherine Anne Porter Biography / Profile
  8. Katherine Anne Porter Biography / Profile
  9. Katherine Anne Porter Biography / Profile
  10. Katherine Anne Porter Biography / Profile
  11. Katherine Anne Porter Criticism (Vol. 1)
  12. Katherine Anne Porter Criticism (Vol. 10)
  13. Katherine Anne Porter Criticism (Vol. 101)
  14. Katherine Anne Porter Criticism (Vol. 13)
  15. Katherine Anne Porter Criticism (Vol. 15)
  16. Katherine Anne Porter Criticism (Vol. 27)
  17. Katherine Anne Porter Criticism (Vol. 3)
  18. Katherine Anne Porter Criticism (Vol. 7)
  19. Katherine Anne Porter Flowering Judas Criticism
  20. Kay Boyle Criticism | Katherine Anne Porter
  21. Letters of Katherine Anne Porter Review - Callie Russell Porter
  22. Letters of Katherine Anne Porter Review - Callie Russell Porter
  23. Noon Wine Summary / Study Guide
  24. Noon Wine: Videohound Movie Retriever
  25. Porter, Katherine Anne: The Oxford Companion to American Literature
  26. Porter, Katherine Anne: The Oxford Companion to English Literature
  27. Ship of Fools Study Guide (eNotes)
  28. The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter Review - Callie Russell Porter
  29. The Fig Tree: Videohound Movie Retriever
  30. The Grave Summary and Study Guide - Katherine Anne Porter
  31. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Study Guide (eNotes)