Katherine Anne Porter Biography

Katherine Anne Porter was a distinguished American journalist, essayist and a short story writer. After a difficult childhood and an abusive first marriage, she began to work in Chicago as an actress. She had to endure a period of ill health during this period, but began writing for various newspapers. Working in Mexico, she developed a respect for the Leftist movement, and was skeptical about religion. However, she became a Roman Catholic towards the end of her life. She had begun writing during her illness and her first story, ‘Maria Concepcion’, was published in the Century magazine. ‘Flowering Judas and Other Stories’, ‘Pale Horse, Pale Rider’, and ‘The Leaning Tower and Other Stories’ were three collections of novellas (or short novels as she preferred to call them) that she penned. ‘Ship of Fools’, her only novel, reflected her trip to Germany, and was critical of the society for allowing the growth of Nazism. Her volume of writing reduced drastically afterwards. She was awarded a Pulitzer and National Book Award for Collected Stories. Her works reflect her rebellious personality. Though not a very prolific writer, her works have become classics for their treatment of gloomy themes such as treachery, death and evil, which cut across space and time.