The life and work of author Katherine Anne Porter has absorbed English professor Darlene H. Unrue for some two decades. The near-obsession has led to six books, numerous articles and presentations, and the creation of a body of scholarship that has resulted in many awards for Unrue, including designation as UNLV Distinguished Professor of English. Her latest book, Katherine Anne Porter: The Life of an Artist, won the prestigious Eudora Welty Prize for Excellence in Modern Letters.
Unrue, who came to UNLV in 1972 soon after completing her Ph.D. at The Ohio State University, says her studies of Porter are a natural follow-up to her dissertation topic on "Henry James and Gothic Romance."
"I noticed a similarity in their techniques," Unrue recalls, "and I knew there had to be some connection." Sure enough, she found that Porter loved James' work and was influenced by it. But that isn't the only attraction Porter holds for the UNLV professor. "She had a fascinating life, a tragic life that she lived with great courage and fortitude," Unrue says. A scandalous love life — she had five husbands — only adds to the fascination. Following her subject's wandering travels has taken Unrue to France, Italy, Mexico, and other countries. She discovered the kinds of intriguing coincidences that biographical researchers love. Unrue and her husband, fellow English professor John Unrue, visited Guadalajara, Mexico, chasing details about Porter's life. "A friend had recommended that we stay at the Fenix (Hotel), which we did. Later I discovered a letter showing that Porter had actually stayed in the same hotel when she was in the city in 1922."
Porter was also a celebrated cook, so Unrue visited the famed Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris to verify that Porter had, indeed, taken lessons there and to uncover some of the novelist's recipes.
Unrue's first book about Porter, Truth and Vision in Katherine Anne Porter's Fiction, was published in 1985. Now Unrue is editing a collection of letters — Porter was a prolific letter writer. Also in the works is a special volume of collected stories for the Library of America.
