Katherine Anne Porter (15 May 1890 – 18 September 1980) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. She is known for her penetrating insight; her works deal with dark themes such as betrayal, death and the origin of human evil. is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... An essayist is an author who writes compositions which can be about any particular subject. ... This article is in need of attention. ... For other uses, see Novel (disambiguation). ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as involvement in action to bring about change, be it social, political, environmental, or other change. ...

Katherine Anne Porter was born in Indian Creek, Texas the fourth of five children of Harrison Boone Porter and Alice (Jones) Porter. Her family tree can be traced back to American frontiersman Daniel Boone, a heritage of which she was proud. This article is about the American pioneer. ...

In 1892, when Porter was two years old, her mother died two months after giving birth to her last child. Her father took his four surviving children (an older brother had died in infancy) to live with his mother, Catherine Ann Porter, in Kyle, Texas. The depth of her grandmother's influence can be inferred from Porter's later adoption of her name. Her grandmother died while taking 11 year-old Callie to visit relatives in Marfa, Texas.

After her grandmother's death, the family lived in several towns in Texas and Louisiana, staying with relatives or living in rented rooms. She was enrolled in free schools wherever the family was living, and for a year in 1904 she attended the Thomas School, a private Methodist school in San Antonio, Texas. This was her only formal education beyond grammar school. This article is about the U.S. State. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... San Antonio redirects here. ... A grammar school is a school that may, depending on regional usage as exemplified below, provide either secondary education or, a much less common usage, primary education (also known as elementary). Grammar schools trace their origins back to medieval Europe, as schools in which university preparatory subjects, such as Latin...

In 1906, at age 16, she ran off and married John Henry Koontz, the son of a wealthy Texas ranching family, and subsequently converted to their religion, Roman Catholicism. Her husband was physically abusive; once while drunk, he threw her down the stairs, breaking her ankle. On another drunken occasion, he beat her to unconsciousness with a hairbrush. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

In 1914 she escaped to Chicago, where she worked briefly as an extra in movies. She then returned to Texas and worked the small town circuit as an actress and singer, divorcing Koontz in 1915. As part of her divorce decree, she asked that her name be changed to Katherine Anne Porter. Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ...

Also in 1915, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and spent the following two years in sanatoriums, where she decided to become a writer. In 1917, she began writing for the Fort Worth Critic, critiquing dramas, and writing society gossip. In 1918, she wrote for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado. She almost died there that year during the influenza pandemic (the Spanish flu). When she was discharged from the hospital months later, she was frail and completely bald. When her hair finally grew back, it was white, and remained that color for the rest of her life. Her experiences during treatment provided the background for her novella Pale Horse, Pale Rider. Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for tubercle bacillus or Tuberculosis) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by mycobacteria, mainly Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Sanatório Heliantia A sanatorium refers to a medical facility for long-term illness, typically cholera or tuberculosis. ... Fort Worth is the sixth-largest city in the state of Texas, located about 30 miles west of Dallas on the West Fork Trinity River and forming part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. ... Nickname: Location of Denver in the State of Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: , Country United States State State of Colorado City and County Denver[1] Founded 1858-11-22, as Denver City, K.T.[2] Incorporated 1861-11-07, as Denver City, C.T.[3] Consolidated... Official language(s) English Demonym Coloradan Capital Denver Largest city Denver Largest metro area Denver-Aurora Metro Area Area  Ranked 8th in the US  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... An influenza pandemic is a large scale epidemic of the influenza virus, such as the 1918 Spanish flu. ... The 1918 flu pandemic (commonly referred to as the Spanish flu) was a category 5 influenza pandemic caused by an unusually severe and deadly Influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. ... Pale Horse, Pale Rider (ISBN 0-15-170755-3) is a collection of three novellas by American author Katherine Anne Porter published in 1939. ...

In 1919, she moved to Greenwich Village in New York City and made her living ghost writing, writing children's stories and doing publicity work for a motion picture company. The year in New York City had a politically radicalizing effect on her, and in 1920, she went to work for a magazine publisher in Mexico, where she became acquainted with members of the Mexican leftist movement, including Diego Rivera. The Washington Square Arch Greenwich Village (IPA pronunciation: ), also called simply the Village, is a largely residential area on the west side of downtown (southern) Manhattan in New York City named after Greenwich, London. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... A ghostwriter is an author who writes under someone elses name, with their consent. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Leftism can refer to: Left-wing politics An album by Leftfield ... Diego Rivera (December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957, born Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez in Guanajuato, Gto. ...

Eventually, however, she became disillusioned with the revolutionary movement and its leaders. During this period, she also became intensely critical of religion and remained so until the last decade of her life when she again embraced the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic Church redirects here. ...

Between 1920 and 1930, she traveled back and forth between Mexico and New York City and began publishing short stories and essays. In 1930, she published her first short story collection, Flowering Judas and Other Stories. An expanded edition of this collection was published in 1935 and received such critical acclaim that it alone virtually assured her place in American literature. American literature refers to written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and Colonial America. ...

In 1926, she married Ernest Stock and lived briefly in Connecticut before divorcing him in 1927. Although biographers have disagreed on the verity of Porter's conflicting statements regarding her reproductive abilities, the number of such reports and their incongruities indicate Porter's interest in female sexuality and reproduction and, at the very least, suggest that some biographers' research may be well-founded. For example, some suggest that Porter suffered several miscarriages, at least one stillbirth between 1910 and 1926, and an abortion, and after contracting gonorrhea from Stock, that she had a hysterectomy in 1927, ending her hopes of ever having a child. Yet, Porter's letters to her lovers suggest that she still intimated her menstruation after this supposed hysterectomy in 1927. As she once confided to a friend, "I have lost children in all the ways one can." Official language(s) none (de facto English) Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport[2] Largest metro area Hartford Metro Area[3] Area  Ranked 48th in the US  - Total 5,543[4] sq mi (14,356 km²)  - Width 70 miles (113 km)  - Length 110 miles (177 km)  - % water 12. ... Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or the fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined in humans at a gestation of prior to 20 weeks. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The clap redirects here. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

During the 1930s, she spent several years in Europe during which she continued to publish short stories. In 1930, she married Eugene Pressley, a writer 13 years her junior. In 1938, upon returning from Europe, she divorced Pressley and married Albert Russel Erskine, Jr., a graduate student who was 20 years younger. He reportedly divorced her (in 1942) after discovering her real age. She never remarried. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

Between 1948 and 1958, Porter taught at Stanford University, the University of Michigan and the University of Texas, where her unconventional manner of teaching made her popular with students. In 1962, she published her only novel, Ship of Fools, which was the best-selling novel in America for that year; its success finally gave her financial security (she reportedly sold the film rights for $400,000). Stanford redirects here. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan. ... The University of Texas System comprises fifteen educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are general academic universities, and six are health institutions. ... Ship of Fools is a novel by Katherine Anne Porter. ...

Despite Porter's claim that after the publication of Ship of Fools she would not win any more prizes in America, in 1966 she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter, and that year was also appointed to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... The National Book Awards is one of the most preeminent literary prizes in the United States. ... The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter was an anthology of the work of Katherine Anne Porter. ... American Academy of Arts and Letters is an organization whose goal is to foster, assist, and sustain an interest in American literature, music, and art. ...

In 1977, Porter published The Never-Ending Wrong, an account of the notorious trial and execution of Sacco and Vanzetti, which she had protested fifty years earlier. Bartolomeo Vanzetti (left) and Nicola Sacco in handcuffs. ...

She died in Silver Spring, Maryland on September 18, 1980, at the age of 90, and was buried next to her mother in the Indian Creek Cemetery in Texas. Not to be confused with Silver Springs. ... Official language(s) None (English, de facto) Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Largest metro area Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area Area  Ranked 42nd  - Total 12,407 sq mi (32,133 km²)  - Width 101 miles (145 km)  - Length 249 miles (400 km)  - % water 21  - Latitude 37° 53′ N to 39° 43′ N...

Awards and honors

• 1966 - Pulitzer Prize for The Collected Stories (1965)
• 1966 - National Book Award for The Collected Stories (1965)
• 1967 - Gold Medal Award for Fiction (American Academy of Arts and Letters)
• Three nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature
• 2006 - Porter was featured on a United States postage stamp. She was the 22nd person featured in the Literary Arts stamp series.^[1]

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded since 1948 for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. ... The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter was an anthology of the work of Katherine Anne Porter. ... The National Book Awards is one of the most preeminent literary prizes in the United States. ... The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter was an anthology of the work of Katherine Anne Porter. ... American Academy of Arts and Letters is an organization whose goal is to foster, assist, and sustain an interest in American literature, music, and art. ... The Nobel Prize (Swedish: ) was established in Alfred Nobels will in 1895, and it was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. ... A selection of Hong Kong postage stamps A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. ...

Works

Short stories

• "Maria Concepcion", 1922
• "The Martyr", 1923
• "Virgin Violeta", 1924
• "He", 1927
• "Magic", 1928
• "Rope", 1928
• "Theft", 1929
• "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall", 1930 (American film, 1980)
• "The Cracked-Looking-Glass", 1932
• "Hacienda", 1934
• "The Downward Path to Wisdom", 1939
• "The Leaning Tower", 1941
• "The Source", 1944
• "The Journey", 1944
• "The Witness", 1944
• "The Circus", 1944 (American film, 1990)
• "The Last Leaf", 1944
• "A Day's Work", 1944
• "The Grave", 1944
• "The Old Order", 1958
• "The Fig Tree", 1960 (American film, 1987)
• "Holiday", 1960
• "A Christmas Story", 1967

Short story collections

• Flowering Judas and Other Stories, 1930
• The Leaning Tower and Other Stories, 1944
• The Old Order: Stories of the South, 1955
• The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter, 1965

Short Novels^[2]

• Old Mortality, 1937
• Noon Wine, 1937 (American TV, 1966; American TV, 1985)
• Pale Horse, Pale Rider, 1939 (British TV, 1964)

Pale Horse, Pale Rider (ISBN 0-15-170755-3) is a collection of three novellas by American author Katherine Anne Porter published in 1939. ...

Novel

• Ship of Fools, 1962

Ship of Fools is a novel by Katherine Anne Porter. ...

Essays

• "The Necessary Enemy", 1948
• "The Future is Now", 1950
• "The Days Before", 1952
• "The Never-Ending Wrong", 1977
• "The Charmed Life", 1942

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Katherine Anne Porter

• Brief biography at Kirjasto (Pegasos)
• Brief biography at Perspectives in American Literature
• Katherine Anne Porter at American Masters (PBS)
• Brief biography at Famous Texans
• Katherine Anne Porter Timeline
• Biography of Katherine Anne Porter at The Literary Encyclopedia (limited access)
• US postage stamp at USPS
• A Tribute Site to Porter's Life, Work, & Legacy (includes an active literary discussion forum)
• Photos of the first edition of Porter's Pulitzer Prize winning book
• Official site of Porter's childhood home in Kyle, TX