Clare Anderson

Clare Anderson, née Porteous, was a British classicist, missionary, translator, pianist, teacher, and poet whose life connected Christian mission with education and cross-cultural work. Born in Islington, London, on June 21, 1923, she grew up in a Presbyterian family. Her father was a Presbyterian minister and traveling secretary for the Fellowship of Reconciliation, while her mother was a teacher and musician. She studied at Nottingham High School, King Edward VI School in Birmingham, and Newnham College, Cambridge, where she earned an M.A. in classics.

After marrying Boris Anderson in 1945, Clare traveled with him to China in 1946 and then to Taiwan in 1948. At Tainan Theological College she lectured in New Testament Greek, and at Cheng-Kung University she taught Greek and Latin literature in English translation. She also helped educate the Andersons' two children and other foreign children in Taiwan. Her musical gifts remained active throughout these years; as a pianist she frequently accompanied Boris, who played the flute.

Returning to Britain in 1963, Anderson taught classics in London until 1976. From 1977 to 1983 she participated in a new translation of the Domesday Book and also worked with Ghanaian and Chinese communities. Her literary interests continued into later life, including the poetry collection Sad, Mad, Good, Bad, published in 1999.

Together with Boris Anderson, she helped carry Taiwanese Christian texts into English-language worship. Her wider legacy, however, extends beyond hymn translation to classical education, music, mission, translation, and intercultural service. She died on May 7, 2008.