Kyle, Texas 78640
(512) 268-2220
Admission: Free
Built in 1880, this historic home is a beautiful tribute to one of the nation's most admired writers. Furnished with period pieces and collections of works by Southwest writers, artists, and poets, this home also displays a unique collection of Porter's photographs, recordings, and videos. A collection of Porter's letters and manuscripts is also maintained at this site.
From the age of two, she lived with her paternal grandmother at this home in Kyle, Texas. Here Porter received the inspiration that grew into some of her best short stories.
Visitors can begin their tour with the front yard, the scene of many of Porter's impromptu plays. Also in the front yard is the "upping block" used by Porter's grandmother to mount and dismount horses.
Porter left Texas after a life-threatening battle with tuberculosis. She lived for a while in Mexico, Paris, and Berlin. The experiences she had while living abroad provided inspiration for several of her short stories. She returned to the United States in 1936.
The Katherine Anne Porter Museum is regularly scheduled for community and monthly events and is open for public meetings, classes, and weddings when scheduled in advance.
Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980)
Katherine Anne Porter's life was full of disappointments which were reflected in her writing. Her mother's death, growing up in a poor family, and several unsuccessful marriages gave Porter a personal insight into the effects of human failure. Throughout her works readers can find a recurring theme of human failure and resulting evil.
Porter was born on March 15, 1890, in Indian Creek, Texas. When her mother died, Porter was two-years-old. She and the other children moved in with their grandmother in Kyle, Texas. Porter attended Thomas School in San Antonio and later taught music and dramatic reading in Victoria, Texas. She married John Henry Koontz in 1906.
Eleven years later, after a tumultuous marriage and an unsuccessful attempt at acting, Porter accepted a position as staff writer for the Fort Worth Critic and then the Rocky Mountain News. From 1919 to 1930 Porter wrote poetry, short stories, and book reviews while making regular visits to Mexico. She drew inspiration for her best creative works from her life experiences and surroundings.
Mexico was a strong influence in Porter's early writing. Her first published story, "Maria Concepcion," appeared in Century magazine in 1922. "Flowering Judas," another story with Mexico as a setting, soon followed. It became the title story for her first collection of short stories, Flowering Judas and Other Stories (1930).
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