Katherine Anne Porter Summary

Biography EssayKatherine Anne Porter's literary reputation rests on the twenty-seven stories in her Collected Stories (1964) rather than on the best-selling novel Ship of Fools (1962), on which she wo... Read more

"I practiced writing in every possible way that I could," Katherine Anne Porter once told Barbara Thompson in a Paris Review interview. "This has been the intact line of my life which directs my actio... Read more

Katherine Anne Porter is among the most distinguished writers of American fiction. Her stories and short novels are meticulously crafted in the tradition of Henry James, Katherine Mansfield, and Jame... Read more

In the following essay, Troy offers a favorable review of Flowering Judas and Other Stories. In the five years that have passed since the almost surreptitious publication of Flowering Judas Miss Porte... Read more

In the following essay, Perry appraises Porter's story “Hacienda” as a combination of her major thematic concerns, concluding that change is the most important theme in the piece.... Read more

In the following essay, Baker places Porter's short fiction within a literary context and traces the influence of her time in Mexico on her life and her fiction. I “The Downward Path to ... Read more

In the following essay, Howell evaluates Porter as a Southern writer. Although the body of Katherine Anne Porter's work has little regional implication and though Miss Porter has spent most of ... Read more

In the following essay, Gernes explores the autobiographical nature of the death sequence in Porter's Pale Horse, Pale Rider. “It's a true story …” Katherine Anne Po... Read more

In the following essay, Gwin praises the sensory details of Porter's short fiction, in particular her depiction of eating and drinking in the stories comprising Flowering Judas. Many efforts ha... Read more

In the following essay, Unrue explores Porter's attitude toward art, religion, politics, and philosophy as evinced in her short fiction. Katherine Anne Porter portrays persons who never look wi... Read more

In the following essay, Stout examines the reticence of the central character, Miranda, and perceives it as evidence of her wisdom. I loved that silence which means freedom from the constant pressure ... Read more

In the following essay, Cheatham argues against an antiformalist approach to Porter's fiction. I recently received a rejection notice for a paper I've written on Katherine Anne Porter&#x... Read more

In the following essay, Cheatham discusses the theme of death in Porter's Miranda stories. Early in Pale Horse, Pale Rider, in one of Miranda Gay's dreams, Katherine Anne Porter introduc... Read more

In the following essay, Unrue provides a close reading of Porter's “Theft” in order to reveal “the extent to which politics was interwoven into Porter's concept and ... Read more

In the following essay, Brinkmeyer traces Porter's growing interest in familial identity and Southern heritage and determines its effect on her fiction. Katherine Anne Porter's developin... Read more

In the following essay, French offers a thematic and stylistic analysis of Porter's “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” In the introduction to his collection of critical essays on... Read more

In the following essay, Ciuba analyzes the roles of mourning and death in Porter's Pale Horse, Pale Rider. Like all of Katherine Anne Porter's fiction, Pale Horse, Pale Rider is underwri... Read more

Critical Essay by Jane Flanders Like so much American writing—particularly Southern writing—Katherine Anne Porter's stories of the Old South ("The Old Order" series ... Read more

Critical Essay by Christopher Isherwood Miss Porter has no genius but much talent. Her average level is high, and she doesn't let you down. She is more fundamentally serious than Katherine Mans... Read more

Critical Essay by Robert Penn Warren Many of [Katherine Anne Porter's] stories are unsurpassed in modern fiction, and some are not often equaled. She belongs to the relatively small group of wr... Read more

Critical Essay by Joan Givner Because Katherine Anne Porter's fictional descriptions of the South of her childhood correspond so exactly to those in her factual accounts, her Miranda stories ha... Read more

Critical Essay by John Edward Hardy When Cousin Eva, the spinster suffragette in "Old Mortality," bitterly condemns the family as a "hideous institution," one that is �... Read more

Critical Essay by Joan Givner The main tenet of [Katherine Anne Porter's moral] philosophy is that the evildoers are not the most reprehensible people in the world, because they at least have t... Read more

Critical Essay by Jane Flanders Katherine Anne Porter is seldom recognized as a feminist, and little known as a literary critic. She was both…. Porter exhibits in her work a well-trained critic... Read more

Critical Essay by Jan Nordby Gretlund [It] is a fact that K. A. Porter was as emotionally involved with the South as William Faulkner and Eudora Welty. Her love for her South is reflected in her writi... Read more

In the following review, Price praises the publication of Porter's correspondence for offering new insight into the life and work of the author. Katherine Anne Porter wrote letters of an astoni... Read more

In the following review, Hosmer praises the publication of Letters of Katherine Anne Porter. W. H. Auden was "an unusually stinking and opinionated sodomite"; Charlie Chaplin "an ... Read more

In the following essay, Gordon draws attention to the literary accomplishments of Porter. A writer pressing the case of the neglected hero gone before has a difficult role: part night nurse, part hit ... Read more

In the following essay, Allen examines psychological devices and symbolism employed by Porter to illustrate hostility and frustration. Katherine Anne Porter has published, as her admirers announce apo... Read more

In the following essay, Liberman explores the significance of symbolism in "Flowering Judas" and addresses previous critical readings of the story. If one opens Jean Stafford's Co... Read more

Is a woman's strength determined by her endurance to stay in a hurtful relationship or is it determined by her ability to move on? The early twentieth century is known to women as the "e... Read more