Collections by Subject: Katherine Anne Porter
The University of Maryland Libraries house the primary archive for Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980).
Porter is known mostly for her short stories and novel, Ship of Fools, but also published nonfiction. She was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1966 for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. Her personal papers reflect her interests in writing, travel, politics, and current events and also document her private life.
The collection includes correspondence, notes and drafts for her works, publications, legal documents, and financial records. It also includes over 1,500 photographs from her personal collection, dating from the 1890s to 1979. Subjects of both snapshots and professional portraits include Porter, her family, friends, homes, and places she visited.
The Porter collection also contains memorabilia, including Mexican pottery, furniture, awards, and diplomas, as well as her personal library. Many of these objects and a portion of her library are housed in the Katherine Anne Porter Room in Hornbake Library.
A complete guide to the Porter collection is now available online.
Individuals who are researching Katherine Anne Porter should begin by consulting the numerous published works by and about her at their nearest academic or public library. A bibliography of recent works on Miss Porter is available on this Web site. An annual bibliographical essay on recent Porter scholarship appears in the Katherine Anne Porter Society Newsletter.
Individuals should contact the Curator of Literary Manuscripts, who has responsibility for the Papers of Katherine Anne Porter, only if their research requires consulting Miss Porter's unpublished correspondence and manuscripts at the University of Maryland Libraries. They can also consult the full text of the guide to the Porter papers online; the guide includes a short biography.
For additional information on Porter consult the Katherine Anne Porter Society. The Web site includes the most recent editions of the Katherine Anne Porter Society newsletter.
Inquiries about obtaining permission to publish the works of Katherine Anne Porter should be directed to:
Barbara Thompson Davis, Trustee for the Literary Estate of Katherine Anne Porter, 205 West 57th Street, #8BA, New York, NY 10019. Fax: 212-765-5090
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Cyrilly Abels papers, 1950-1975. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Cyrilly Abels (1903-1975) was the managing editor of Mademoiselle magazine from 1950 through the early 1960s, when she opened her own literary agency. Abels was literary agent, editor, and close friend of Katherine Anne Porter. The collection consists of letters, postcards, and notes to and from Miss Porter concerning daily life and publishing efforts. Some of the correspondence is addressed to Jerome Weinstein, Abels's husband.
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Archives of the Atlantic Monthly, 1966-1980. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
The Atlantic Monthly Press was founded in 1917 as the publishing division of the Atlantic Monthly Company. The press was originally envisioned by Editor Ellery Sedwick as a vehicle for publishing books based on articles and essays originally printed in the Atlantic Monthly magazine, but struggled in its early years and was eventually acquired as an imprint by Little, Brown and Co. The press was responsible for publishing Katherine Anne Porter's Ship of Fools (1962) and The Never Ending Wrong (1977), and many of the staff members of the press, such as Associate Editor Seymour Lawrence, were friends and confidantes of Porter. The collection consists primarily of correspondence with Katherine Anne Porter, as well as with people and institutions involved with the production and promotion of her work. Also included in the collection are articles and clippings relating to Porter, invoices, and royalty statements.
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Isabel Bayley papers, 1900-1993. 39 linear feet and 13 items.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Isabel Bayley (1911-1993) met Katherine Anne Porter at the Kansas University Seminar, where Porter was teaching, in 1948. They became good friends, and Porter encouraged Bayley to write professionally. Her first published story, "The Great White Owl," appeared in Accent in 1954. In 1953, Porter authorized Bayley to work on the marginalia in her personal library for possible publication, a project that was never completed. In 1974, Porter named Bayley trustee of her literary estate; she assumed this position in 1983. Bayley selected and edited the Letters of Katherine Anne Porter, published on May 15, 1990, by the Atlantic Monthly Press. Bayley's papers include correspondence, manuscripts, legal documents, memorabilia, photographic materials, publications, videotapes, and work papers. Her correspondence with Porter dates from July 16, 1948, to September 3, 1980.
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Clark Dobson Collection, 1901-2005. 5.00 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Edward Clark Dobson (1939- ), a higher education professor and administrator, developed a warm personal relationship with Katherine Anne Porter that began in 1972 and endured until her death in 1980. During their relationship, they frequently attended Washington, D.C., area concerts and social events. Dobson began collecting Katherine Anne Porter items in 1976, when Porter gave Dobson a copy of her A Christmas Story as a Christmas gift. The collection consists of correspondence, mostly written to and from Katherine Anne Porter; publications; photographs; and memorabilia, which document Porters literary career and relationship with Dobson.
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Mary Louis Doherty papers, 1920-1982. 1.75 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Mary Louis Doherty (1896-1995) was an expatriate American and journalist who lived in Mexico most of her life, working for Mexican government officials as well as private institutions and individuals. She corresponded with Katherine Anne Porter after they met in Mexico City in 1921. Doherty and Porter lived together in Mexico City in 1931 and in Washington, D.C., in 1944. She served as one of the models for the character of Laura in Porter's short story, "Flowering Judas." The Doherty collection consists of correspondence, biographical materials, publications, legal documents, and photographs. Letters from Porter comprise a portion of the correspondence.
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Donald Elder papers, 1940-1963. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Donald Elder (1913-1965) was an editor with Doubleday, Doran and Co., which published the English translation of José Joaquín Fernandez de Lizardi's The Itching Parrot in Katherine Anne Porter's name. He was also the author of Ring Lardner, A Biography. The collection consists of correspondence between him and Porter. Important subjects include writers and writing and Porter's personal interests and opinions, as well as The Itching Parrot and Ship of Fools.
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Edna Frederikson papers, 1941-1972. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Edna Frederikson (1904-1998) was an author of novels and poetry, as well as a professor at Madison College (later James Madison University) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She met Katherine Anne Porter at the 1940 Bread Loaf Writer's Conference in Middleburg, Vermont. Porter was especially helpful to Frederikson in the early 1940s as Frederikson made the transition from teaching to creative writing. The collection consists of correspondence between Frederikson and Porter. Important subjects include writing, mutual acquaintances, and events in their personal lives.
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Ann Heintze papers, 1945-1976. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Ann Heintze (1921-1987), was a professional dancer and ballet instructor and one of Katherine Anne Porter's nieces. She danced with the San Carlo Opera Ballet, Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and at Radio City Music Hall before her marriage to Walter Heintze in 1950. She maintained a close relationship with Porter and traveled with her to Europe and Mexico in the 1960s. The collection consists of letters and postcards to Mrs. Heintze and her family from Porter. There is also correspondence relating to Mary Alice Holloway, Mrs. Heintze's sister who died in 1919.
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Seymour Lawrence papers, 1955-1980. 3.75 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Seymour Lawrence (1926-1994) was Katherine Anne Porter's publisher, first at Atlantic Monthly Press and later with Seymour Lawrence, Inc., his independent imprint. He was also associated with Alfred Knopf, Dell/Delacorte, E. P. Dutton, and Houghton Mifflin. As editor-in-chief at Atlantic Monthly Press, Lawrence oversaw the publication of Ship of Fools, Porter's novel. The collection consists of correspondence, galley proofs, editing notes, and clippings documenting Lawrence's editorial projects and interactions with various authors. Among the significant correspondents represented in the collection are Katherine Anne Porter, Glenway Wescott, and Mark Van Doren.
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Robert Morris papers, 1972-1973. 7 items.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Vice president of University National Bank, Robert Morris came into contact with Katherine Anne Porter when she became a customer of the College Park branch at which he was the manager in 1971. Morris served as Porter's personal banker, after she secured a loan from his bank. This collection of 7 items of correspondence, 6 of which are Porters letters to Morris, detail Porter's accounts and the progress on the loan she had taken during this time.
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Harry C. Perry, Jr. papers, 1958-1966. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Harry C. Perry, Jr. (b. 1919), was Katherine Anne Porter's tax accountant for approximately five years in the early 1960s. He filed Miss Porter's federal and District of Columbia tax returns from 1959 until 1964. The collection documents Miss Porter's financial situation before and after the publication of Ship of Fools. Included in the collection are financial papers, correspondence, and newspaper clippings related to Miss Porter.
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Katherine Anne Porter papers, 1842-1980. 174.5 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
The University of Maryland Libraries house the primary archive for Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980). Porter is known mostly for her short stories and novel, Ship of Fools, but also published nonfiction. She was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in 1966 for The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. Her personal papers reflect her interests in writing, travel, politics, and current events and also document her private life. The collection includes correspondence, notes and drafts for her works, publications, legal documents, and financial records. It also includes over 1,500 photographs from her personal collection, dating from the 1890s to 1979. Subjects of both snapshots and professional portraits include Porter, her family, friends, homes, and places she visited. The Porter collection also contains memorabilia, including Mexican pottery, furniture, awards, and diplomas, as well as her personal library. Many of these objects and a portion of her library are housed in the Katherine Anne Porter Room in Hornbake Library.
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Records of Katherine Anne Porter at 100, 1989-1991. 16.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Katherine Anne Porter at 100: New Perspectives was a public program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The University of Maryland, College Park, was the site of this celebration of the hundredth birthday of Katherine Anne Porter, May 9-11, 1991. At various locations on campus, the conference featured presentations commemorating Porter's memory by friends and colleagues, including Porter's literary trustee Isabel Bayley, Cleanth Brooks, Porter's publisher and editor Seymour Lawrence, nephew Paul Porter, and Porter's lawyer E. Barrett Prettyman; presentations discussing Porter's work; film viewings; and an exhibition of materials from the Porter papers from the holdings of the University of Maryland Libraries. The collection includes correspondence, financial records, publications, posters, budgetary materials, legal documents, press releases, work papers, color slides, posters, and video recordings.
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Paul Porter papers, 1903-2009. 8.75 linear feet and 226 items.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Harrison Paul Porter (b. 1921) is one of the nephews of Katherine Anne Porter and was her legal guardian from 1977 to 1980. His papers include correspondence; guardianship records; published materials and notes; audio tapes; and photographs documenting the literary career of Katherine Anne Porter and their relationship. Significant individuals represented in the collection include Robert Penn Warren, Seymour Lawrence, and Joan Daves.
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E. Barrett Prettyman papers, 1962-1984. 1.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr. (b. 1925), was Katherine Anne Porter's lawyer and close friend from the mid-1960s until her death in 1980. He has been in private practice in Washington, D.C., since 1955, and a partner with the prominent firm of Hogan and Hartson since 1964. He is the author of Death and the Supreme Court. His papers include personal letters and business correspondence relating to Porter. During the lifetime of Mr. Prettyman, no one may quote from these papers unless authorized in writing by him. In addition, researchers may not consult the portion of these papers donated in 1997 without Mr. Prettyman's written permission.
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Mr. and Mrs. John A. Prince papers, 1957-1978. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
John Prince (b. 1922) developed friendships with several artists and writers during and after World War II. He received his master's arts degree from the University of Missouri in 1950, and taught there for a brief time. After a career in catering, he entered real estate, a field in which he still works. In 1954, he boarded with Marcella Comes Winslow, a Washington artist and friend of Katherine Anne Porter. Prince met Porter through his association with Winslow and was Porter's neighbor and friend in Georgetown from 1959 to 1962. He and his wife corresponded regularly with her for several years after that. The collection contains correspondence, financial and legal documents, photographs, and published copies of Porter's books.
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Herbert Schaumann papers, 1941-1947. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Herbert Schaumann (1909-1982) was a minor poet, a World War II veteran, and an associate professor of Comparative Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Maryland. In 1944 Schaumann met Katherine Anne Porter in Washington, D.C. The collection consists of correspondence between Schaumann and Porter between 1944 and 1947. Schaumann and Porter developed and ended an intimate relationship during this period. The letters discuss World War II, films, writing, and personal life.
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Grace Delafield Day Spier papers, 1928-1931. 0.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Grace Delafield Day Spier (1901-1980) was a social activist, a friend of Katherine Anne Porter, and the sister of Dorothy Day, editor of the Catholic Worker. She became active in the literary and intellectual circles of Greenwich Village in the second decade of the twentieth century. The collection consists of correspondence from Katherine Anne Porter about mutual acquaintances and personal life.
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Janis P. Stout papers, 1988-1997. 0.50 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Janis Pitts Stout (1939-) was an English professor and administrator at a number of research universities, most notably Rice University, Texas A & M, and Auburn University, from 1973 until her retirement in 2002. She produced three novels, compiled and edited a calendar based on the works of Willa Cather, and published six scholarly works, including Katherine Anne Porter: A Sense of the Times (1995). Dr. Stout's papers consist almost exclusively of material related to the research and publication of her 1995 book on Katherine Anne Porter. Included is correspondence regarding permissions from her book, a copy of the book proposal evaluation, other scholarly work on Katherine Anne Porter by Dr. Stout, and a portion of Dr. Stout's research notes. Some general correspondence related to Dr. Stout's book is also included.
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Thomas Walsh papers, 1887-1992. 11.00 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Thomas F. Walsh (1925-1991) was an American literature professor at Georgetown University beginning in 1956. In his early career, he concentrated his research on Nathaniel Hawthorne and the American Transcendentalists; he later focused on Wallace Stevens and Flannery O'Connor. He met Katherine Anne Porter in 1960 and subsequently published several scholarly works on her writing. Walsh also became acquainted with Porter's friend, Mary Louis Doherty, during his frequent visits to Mexico, where Porter had lived sporadically between 1920 and 1931. In the mid-1970s, he began work on a book that combined his interest in Porter with his love of Mexico. That book, Katherine Anne Porter and Mexico: The Illusion of Eden, was published posthumously in 1992. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, publications, work papers for Walsh's books and articles, legal documents, audio tapes, and photographs.
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Glenway Wescott Collection, 1932-1977. 29.25 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
Glenway Wescott (1901-1987) was the author of novels, poetry, short stories, and essays. He met Katherine Anne Porter in Paris in the 1930s, and they remained friends for many years. Wescott's papers include several versions of the manuscript for a never-completed edition of some of Porter's letters. The book was titled Letters to a Circle of Friends 1933-1962: Thirty Years of Friendship and was to include correspondence from Porter, Wescott, Monroe Wheeler, Barbara Harrison Wescott, George Platt Lynes, and Russell Lynes. Originals of some of the letters are included in the manuscript collection, along with notes and miscellaneous published material by and about Porter.
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Mr. and Mrs. William R. Wilkins papers, 1956-2007 and undated. 2.50 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
William R. (Bill) Wilkins (1928- ) was born in Loveland, Colorado. His family moved to northern California during Wilkins's childhood, and Wilkins later attended Humboldt State College, graduating in 1951. Wilkins and his college sweetheart, Fern Stahl, married in 1952. After graduation, Wilkins joined the Navy, for which he served until his retirement in 1974 at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Wilkins's military career resulted in many moves for him, Fern, and their two children, bringing the family to Maryland for Wilkins's positions at National Security Agency Headquarters and a communication station in Cheltenham, Maryland. While Bill Wilkins was stationed in Maryland, Fern Wilkins began her own career as a Montessori teacher. Fern Wilkins died on April 20, 2008, in Columbia, Maryland. The Wilkins family met Katherine Anne Porter in November 1968 after the funeral of their son David. Fern Wilkins's cousin, Robert Beach, a member of the University of Maryland's University Relations staff, had driven the family to the funeral at Arlington Cemetery, and decided to stopped at Porter's Washington, D.C., residence after the service. Porter invited the Wilkinses into her home for lunch. From this kind gesture, a warm friendship developed. Bill Wilkins joined Porter as her assistant from April 1976 until June 1977; during this time, Porter and Wilkins worked on The Never-Ending Wrong (1977) and her never-published biography of Cotton Mather. Wilkins later worked for the Assistant Superintendent of the Maryland School for the Blind in Baltimore, Maryland, until his retirement in June 1995. From 1996 until 2003, he volunteered in support of the University of Maryland Libraries' Porter holdings and other literary manuscript collections. The collection includes correspondence, clippings, serials, photographs, memorabilia owned by or related to Porter, and audio recordings.
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George and Toni Willison papers, 1932-1996. 0.75 linear feet.
Location: Literature and Rare Books
George (1896-1972) and Toni (1903-1998) Willison were long-time residents of Malta, New York. They purchased South Hill, the only home ever owned by Katherine Anne Porter, from Miss Porter in 1946. The collection contains letters and cards from Miss Porter to the Willisons concerning South Hill and other aspects of Porter's life. The collection also includes other Porter/Willison-related correspondence, notes, clippings, printed matter, and photographs.
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Desmond Willson Papers, 1956-1995. 0.25 linear feet (24 items).
Location: Literature and Rare Books
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