Why Porter Writes Letters

After skimming through the book of Porter’s letters I came across a very short letter written to James Powers on page 557. In this letter she tells Mr. Powers that she is keeping all of his letters and hopes that he will do that same because future generations will enjoy reading them. She tells him that reading private letters between people who are “safely dead of course” is her favorite type of reading (Porter 557). Even though Porter is “safely dead” she is still very much alive; she lives through these letters. Since letters are personal and private they illustrate Porter’s character and personality that cannot be determined when reading one of her short stories. These letters allow us access to the real Katherine Anne Porter.