Katherine Anne Porter (151 page)

“On a Criticism of Thomas Hardy” first appeared, as “Notes on a Criticism of Thomas Hardy,” in
The Southern Review
(Summer 1940); it was revised for inclusion, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“E. M. Forster” first appeared, as “E. M. Forster Speaks Out for
the Things He Holds Dear,” in
The New York Times Book Review
(November 4, 1951); it was collected, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“Virginia Woolf” first appeared, as “Virginia Woolf’s Essays—A Great Art, a Sober Craft,” in
The New York Times Book Review
(May 7, 1950); it was collected, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

Two book reviews of novels by D. H. Lawrence are presented in this volume under the heading “D. H. Lawrence.” “Quetzalcoatl” first appeared in
New York Herald Tribune Books
(March 7, 1926); it was revised for inclusion in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here. “A Wreath for the Gamekeeper” first appeared in
Shenandoah
(Autumn 1959) and was reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“‘The Laughing Heat of the Sun’” first appeared, as “Edith Sitwell’s Steady Growth to Great Poetic Art,” in
New York Herald Tribune Books
(December 18, 1949); it was collected, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“The Art of Katherine Mansfield” first appeared in
The Nation
(October 23, 1937); it was revised for inclusion in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“The Hundredth Role” first appeared in
New York Herald Tribune Books
(October 7, 1928) and was reprinted in
“This Strange, Old World”
(1991). The text from
“This Strange, Old World”
is used here.

“Dylan Thomas” is a set of three book reviews that first appeared in
Collected Essays
(1970). “A death of days. . .” first appeared, as “His Poetry Makes a Difference,” in
The New York Times Book Review
(November 20, 1955); “A fever chart. . .” first appeared, as “In the Depths of Grief, a Towering Rage,” in
The New York Times Book Review
(October 13, 1957); and “In the morning of the poet. . .” first appeared, as “In the Morning of the Poet,” in
The New York Times Book Review
(February 2, 1958). The text of “Dylan Thomas” from
The Collected Essays
is used here, with subheadings (“A death of days. . . ,” “A fever chart. . . ,” “In the morning of the poet. . .”) supplied by the editor.

“A Most Lively Genius” first appeared in
The New York Times Book Review
(November 18, 1951) and was reprinted in
“This Strange, Old World”
(1991). The text from
“This Strange, Old World”
is used here.

“Orpheus in Purgatory” first appeared in
The New York Times Book Review
(January 1, 1950); it was revised for inclusion in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

Four memorial tributes by Porter to literary figures of her acquaintance are presented in this volume under the heading “In Memoriam.” “Ford Madox Ford” first appeared, untitled, in
New Directions in Prose and Poetry
(1942) as one of 24 tributes by various writers published under the heading “In Memoriam: Ford Madox Ford, 1875–1939”; it was revised for inclusion, under the title “Homage to Ford Madox Ford,” in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted, as “Homage to Ford Madox Ford,” in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title supplied by the editor. “James Joyce” first appeared, as part of “From the Notebooks of Katherine Anne Porter,” in
The Southern Review
(Summer 1965); it was revised for inclusion, as part of “From the Notebooks: Yeats, Joyce, Eliot, Pound,” in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title supplied by the editor. “Sylvia Beach” first appeared, as “Paris: A Little Incident in the Rue de l’Odéon,” in
The Ladies’ Home Journal
(August 1964); it was revised for inclusion, under the title “A Little Incident in the Rue de l’Odéon,” in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title supplied by the editor. “Flannery O’Connor” first appeared, as “Gracious Greatness,” in
Esprit
(Winter 1964); it was revised for inclusion, under the title “Flannery O’Connor at Home,” in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title supplied by the editor.

P
ERSONAL
AND
P
ARTICULAR
: This volume collects four pieces by Porter on the craft of fiction under the heading “On Writing.” “My First Speech” first appeared in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here. “I must write from memory. . .” first appeared, as part of “Notes on Writing,” in
New Directions in Prose and Poetry
(1940); it was reprinted, as part of “Notes on Writing,” in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title supplied by the editor. “No Plot, My Dear, No Story” first appeared in
The Writer
(June 1942); it was revised for inclusion in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here. “Writing cannot be taught. . .” first appeared, as “On Writing,” in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title supplied by the editor.

Porter’s written responses to three sets of symposium questions are presented here under the heading “The Situation of the Writer.” “The Situation in American Writing” first appeared, as part of
“Symposium: The Situation in American Writing,” in
Partisan Review
(Summer 1939); it was collected, under the title “1939: The Situation in American Writing,” as the first item under the heading “Three Statements about Writing” in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted, in the same manner, in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title revised by the editor. “Transplanted Writers” first appeared, as part of the symposium “Transplanted Writers,” in
Books Abroad
(July 1942); it was collected, under the title “1942: Transplanted Writers,” and as the third item under the heading “Three Statements about Writing,” in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted, in the same manner, in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title revised by the editor. “The International Exchange of Writers” first appeared, as “Remarks on the Agenda by Katherine Anne Porter,” in
The Arts and Exchange of Persons—Report of a Conference on the Arts and Exchange of Persons Held October 4 and 5, 1956, at the Institute of International Education
(New York: Institute of International Education, 1956); it was reprinted, as “Remarks on the Agenda,” in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title supplied by the editor.

Four pieces by Porter commenting on her own fiction are presented in this volume under the heading “The Author on Her Work.” “No Masters or Teachers” first appeared in
New Voices 2: American Writing Today
, edited by Don M. Wolfe (New York: Hendricks House, 1955). The text from
New Voices 2
is used here. “On ‘Flowering Judas’” first appeared, as “Katherine Anne Porter: Why She Selected ‘Flowering Judas,’” in
This Is My Best
, edited by Whit Burnett (New York: The Dial Press, 1942). The text from
This Is My Best
is used here. “The only reality. . .” first appeared as the introduction to the Modern Library edition of
Flowering Judas and Other Stories
(New York: Modern Library, 1940); it was collected, under the title “1940: Introduction to
Flowering Judas,”
as the second item under the heading “Three Statements about Writing” in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted, in the same manner, in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here, under a title revised by the editor. “‘Noon Wine’: The Sources” first appeared in
The Yale Review
(September 1956) and was reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“Notes on the Texas I Remember” first appeared in
The Atlantic Monthly
(March 1975). The text from
The Atlantic Monthly
is used here.

“Portrait: Old South” first appeared in
Mademoiselle
(February 1944); it was collected in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“A Christmas Story” first appeared in Mademoiselle (December
1946). In 1958 it was privately printed in a hardcover edition of 2,500 copies for distribution as a Christmas gift to the staff and associates of
Mademoiselle
magazine. In 1967 it was published as
A Christmas Story
(New York: A Seymour Lawrence Book/Delacorte Press), with an afterword by Porter and drawings by Ben Shahn. The text from the Delacorte edition is used here; the afterword appears in the Notes to the present volume, on
page 1070
.

“Audubon’s Happy Land” first appeared, as “Happy Land,” in
Vogue
(November 1, 1939); it was revised for inclusion, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“The Flower of Flowers” first appeared in
Flair
(May 1950); it was collected in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“A Note on Pierre-Joseph Redouté” first appeared, as “Pierre-Joseph Redouté,” in
Flair
(May 1950); it was collected, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“A House of My Own” first appeared, as “Now at Last a House of My Own,” in
Vogue
(September 1, 1941); it was revised for inclusion, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“The Necessary Enemy” first appeared, as “Love and Hate,” in
Mademoiselle
(October 1948); it was revised for inclusion, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“‘Marriage Is Belonging’” first appeared in
Mademoiselle
(October 15, 1951); it was collected in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“A Defense of Circe” first appeared in
Mademoiselle
(June 1954). It was revised for its publication in 1955 by Harcourt, Brace & Co., in a hardcover edition of 1,700 copies, as a “New Year’s Greeting” to the friends of the author and publisher. The Harcourt text was reprinted, with an author’s note, in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“St. Augustine and the Bullfight” first appeared, as “Adventure in Living,” in
Mademoiselle
(July 1955) and was revised for inclusion, under its present title, in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“Act of Faith: 4 July 1942” first appeared, as “American Statement,” in
Mademoiselle
(July 1942); it was revised for inclusion, as “American Statement: 4 July 1942,” in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted, under its present title, in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“The Future Is Now” first appeared in
Mademoiselle
(November 1950); it was revised for inclusion in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.

“The Never-Ending Wrong” first appeared in
The Atlantic Monthly
(June 1977); it was reprinted, with added foreword and footnotes, as
The Never-Ending Wrong
(Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press/Little, Brown & Co., 1977). Porter dedicated the book to her personal secretary, William R. Wilkins. The text of the book edition is used here; the foreword appears in the Notes to the present volume, on
page 1073
.

M
EXICAN
: “Why I Write About Mexico” first appeared, as a contributor’s note to the story “The Martyr,” in
The Century Magazine
(July 1923); it was revised for inclusion, under its present title, in
The Days Before
(1952) and reprinted in
Collected Essays
(1970). The text from
Collected Essays
is used here.