Interview of Katherine Anne Porter by Enrique (Hank) Lopez in Mexico City, Mexico, December 9, 1964

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Date
1964-12-09
Summary
Interview of Katherine Anne Porter by Enrique (Hank) Lopez for the periodical "Dialogos" in Mexico City at the Prado Hotel on December 9, 1964. On first tape, both Lopez and a female interviewer and interact with Porter. The tape begins with Porter discussing her relationship with Edith Sitwell. Porter talks about literary careers before addressing Lopez's request to talk about her time in Mexico. She repeats the story of why she decided to go to Mexico, her experiences there in 1920, including the genesis of "Flowering Judas" as well as a delightful anecdote involving Felipe Carillo Puerto. She also mentions Caso, Enciso, Obregon, Vasconcelos, and Covarrubias and discusses the 1922 exhibit of Mexican Popular Art, her part in it and the problems associated with getting it exhibited. She recounts a story about threats of lawsuits by the Doheny oil interests after the publication of her "Where Presidents Have No Friends" in 1922. Discusses her French translator Marcelle Sibon. Also recounts seeing the Mexican exhibit in Paris. Expresses opinions of Diego Rivera, mentions Siqueiros, Tina Modotti, Dr. Atl, and Nahui Olin. Discusses origins and composition of Ship of Fools. Second recording continues the discussion of Ship of Fools. She also discusses her time working in Hollywood, the Roberto Turnbull movie in which her legs and feet were filmed, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hart Crane, Malcolm Lowry, James Stern. She names the contemporary writers she admires: Peter Taylor, Eudora Welty, J. F. Powers, Flannery O'Connor, William Humphrey, Walter Clemons, George Garrett, as well as the types she does not like. Concludes with discussion of her family associations with New Orleans and Louisiana. About midway through this portion of the interview, Mary Louis Doherty joins Porter, Lopez, and the woman (who may be Lopez's wife).
Contributors
Prado, Henry; Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890-1980
Subject
Literature, Print Culture
Locations
North America; United Mexican States; Mexico City
Collection
Literature
Unit
Special Collections and University Archives
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Terms of Use
Collection may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the University of Maryland Libraries at http://www.lib.umd.edu/special/contact/home.
Physical Description
7 in; 1:48:02 hh:mm:ss; 1/4" open reel tape
Notes
Katherine Anne Porter papers
Accession 66-5
A guide to the full collection of Katherine Anne Porter papers is available in our archival collections: http://hdl.handle.net/1903.1/1532.

Access

Access condition: public.
Other Identifiers
Fedora 2 PID: umd:683993; Handle Identifier: hdl:1903.1/33188; Catalog Key: KAP10.16.16; Filename: litmss-025277

Access Restrictions

This item is accessible by: the public.