Mary Evelyn was born in Nova Scotia, Canada and raised in Europe and North America. She is a retired teacher of English Language Arts and Rhetoric. She has written curriculum for several school districts in California. Mary Evelyn Porter now lives in Washington, DC.

Her present focus is oral history, narratives of people whose voices are not often heard. She is currently involved in two projects:

RomaRising – Narratives by individuals from several countries, engaged in a variety of occupations and professions, who are of Roma ethnicity.
The Farm Museum – Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia, Canada. Narratives by individuals living in rural Nova Scotia, which bring to life the history of agriculture in Maritime Canada.