Japanese Crane

The Red-Crowned Crane (grus japonensis), in oil pastel on paper.

Observing the Cries of the World

in tribute to the suffering in Japan: Kannon, Bodhisattva of Compassion

Katherine Anne Porter

(1890-1980)  I was introduced to KAP's writing by one of my English professors, Martin Bidney, and she's since become one of my favorite writers.  I just finished making my way through a large chunk of her collected writings in the Library of America edition (which, by the way, is a beautiful non-profit publisher devoted to preserving the nation's cultural literary heritage: www.loa.org).  Anyway, afterward, I started reading a completely different piece of genre fiction, and the contrast almost ruined the latter experience for me a bit, seeing the stark difference between brilliant writing and that which is meant mostly for fun.  Also made me realize how difficult it is to pinpoint exactly what makes good writing good; I just know it when I see it, but I have trouble articulating why.  Anyway, this pencil drawing on red paper (don't ask why) is dedicated to the paperback copy of her collected short stories that I lost on a beach trip many years ago. Here's hoping someone picked it up and read it.