Although her whole collection of writing, from her book reviews and her published letters to her short stories and novel, is considered rather small, Katherine Anne Porter, according to many academicians, including Don Graham, in his article "Katherine Anne Porter's Journey from Texas to the World, in the Southwest Review, is revered as one of the "grande dame[s] of American literature." Without a formal education, a family that supported her interests, and a confident stance in regard to her own gifts, Porter was able to dig down into her personal history, where, Graham writes, "there were never any easy answers," and come up with a "key to her ability to create stories of lasting value." From this material, mostly taken from the struggles in her youth, Porter found "hard questions" most of which, Graham continues, "were never solved, but they produced some literature with lasting...