Anne Porter

Anne Elizabeth Porter (November 6, 1911 - October 10, 2011) was an American poet.

Anne Elizabeth Porter
BornAnne Elizabeth Channing
(1911-11-06)November 6, 1911
Sherborn, Massachusetts
DiedOctober 10, 2011(2011-10-10) (aged 99)
Hampton Bays, New York,
Resting placeSouthampton, New York
OccupationPoet
LanguageEnglish
EducationWinsor School, Boston; Bryn Mawr College; Radcliffe College
GenrePoetry
Years active1934-20011
SpouseFairfield Porter
Children5

She was born Anne Elizabeth Channing near Boston in 1911. Her great-great uncle was the famous preacher and author William Ellery Channing (1780-1842).[1]

She wrote poetry from her childhood. She decided to write more after her husband, painter Fairfield Porter, died in 1975.[2]

Her first book, An Altogether Different Language, came out when she was 83 years old. It was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1994.[3]

Her poems were often about spiritual subjects. Poet David Shapiro called her “an American religious poet of stature who reminds us that the idea of the holy is still possible for us.”[4]

Porter died just before her 100th birthday in 2011.[2]

Books

  • The Birds of Passage (1989)
  • An Altogether Different Language (1994)
  • Living Things: Collected Poems (2006)

References

  1. Spring, Justin (2000). Fairfield Porter: A Life in Art. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 56-57. ISBN 0300076371.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Anne Porter". Poetry Foundation. 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  3. "National Book Awards 1994". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  4. Jones, Victoria Emily (2018-11-16). ""Leavetaking" by Anne Porter". Art & Theology. Retrieved 2023-02-17.