Newsletter of the
Katherine Anne Porter
Society

Volume 7; May 2000

Inside...

Porter in Niven Biography

Bibliography

Porter Activities

Perspective

Remembering KAP

ALA 1999

KAP House

KAP School

Other short articles

Call for Papers


Other Newsletters

Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4.1
Volume 4.2
Volume 5.1
Volume 6
Volume 7
Volume 8
Volume 9
Volume 10
Volume 11
Volume 12

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Katherine Anne Porter Society Activities at the American Literature Association Conference in Baltimore

Janis Stout, Dean of Faculties at Texas A & M University, chaired the Katherine Anne Porter Society's session held in Baltimore on Friday, May 28, 1999. The session entitled "New Views on Katherine Anne Porter" began with Professor Stout's overview of the current state of Porter scholarship followed by three papers. The first, "The Rhetorical Use of Memory and Knowing in Porter's 'The Grave,'" was read by Melinda Williams, of Texas Woman's University. Susana M. Jiménez Placer of the University of Santiago De Compostela, Galicia, Spain, presented "Grandmother, Aunt Nannie, and the Rolling Pin of Life." "Tuberculosis and Changing Views of Illness in Katherine Anne Porter's Fiction," was the subject of the paper of Lisa C. Roney of Pennsylvania State University.

The Society held a business meeting after the paper session. President Beth Alvarez reported that the balance in the Society's account in the UNLV Foundation in 1998 was $492.46. Revenue for 1998 was $122.00. The balance in the Society's account at the time of the meeting was $614.00. Alvarez explained that the Dean of Liberal Arts at UNLV assumes the costs of mailing the newsletters; and the Archives and Manuscripts Department at the University of maryland Libraries provides institutional support for the president/newsletter editor. In May 1999, there were thirty-two regular members of the Society, and nine honorary members. The president will send a letter to all former and current members as well as others interested in Katherine Anne Porter urging them to join or renew membership in the Society. After a reasonable period elapses to allow for renewals and new memberships, the revised by-laws will be mailed for a vote by all members. The newsletter will return to publishing only one issue per year. Members were urged to submit articles, news items, and announcements. Future meetings of the Society will be held at forthcoming American Literature Association conferences. Thomas Austenfeld will chair the session to be held in Long Beach, California, and Christine Hait will serve as chair at the Baltimore, Maryland session. Those present were urged to submit paper proposals for these sessions.

At the conclusion of the business meeting, Beth Alvarez introduced Patty Rettig, the Project Archivist for the Preservation Microfilming of the Katherine Anne Porter Papers at the University of Maryland Libraries. Ms. Rettig explained what had been completed on the project and the Porter resources that are available on the Libraries' Web site. She also solicited suggestions to improve the usability of the information on the Web site.

© 2000 Katherine Anne Porter Society