Spoken Word

3 Feb 2023

Spoken Word: Episode 1: Part 1: Tribute to Dorothy Porter

Literature, Philosophy, Society & Culture

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Spoken Word: Episode 1: Part 1: Tribute to Dorothy Porter

Hosted by James WF Roberts with special guest Michael Reynolds.

James and Michael discuss the life and the work of the late, great Melbourne poet and Lesbian icon Dorothy Porter,
who Michael was very close friends with.

Dorothy Porter was one of the most important poets in Australia in the late 20^th to early 21^st centuries. Porter rejuvenated the verse novel blending noir, pulp, melodrama and Queer sexuality into one of the most remarkable Australian collections over the last 50 years with her terse police procedural verse novel, The Monkey’s Mask.

Dorothy Featherstone Porter (26 March 1954 – 10 December 2008) was an Australian poet. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award for lifetime achievement in poetry.

Porter’s awards include The Age Book of the Year for poetry, the National Book Council Award for The Monkey’s Mask and the FAW (Fellowship of Australian Writers) Christopher Brennan Award for poetry. Two of her verse novels were shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award: What a Piece of Work in 2000 and Wild Surmise in 2003. In 2000, the film The Monkey’s Mask, was was made from her verse novel of the same name. In 2005, her libretto The Eternity Man, co-written with composer Jonathan Mills, was performed at the Sydney Festival. Porter’s last book published during her life was El Dorado, her fifth verse novel, about a serial child killer. The book was nominated for several awards including the inaugural Prime Minister’s Literary Award in 2007 and for Best Fiction in the Ned Kelly Awards.

Two other works have been published posthumously; her poetry collection The Bee Hut (2009), as well as has her final completed work, an essay on literary criticism and emotions, entitled On Passion.

Porter, was an immense talent, writing in many different genres, including fiction for young adults and libretti for chamber operas, was working on a rock opera called January with Tim Finn at the time of her death.

Porter has been an inspiration and a huge influence for several generations of Australian poets and writers, be they stage or page poets. Her legacy will live on.

Photo courtesy of abc.net.au