Dorothy Porter, the great Australian poet and writer, died last week.
This news came as such a shock. Here at AWMonline, we are all huge fan of her verse novels and our first thought was, ‘But she only published a book recently, how can she have died?’. We just felt robbed that a writer who was still so active and putting out great writing should have died, before she’d had a chance to share with the rest of the world everything else that she may have wanted to put on paper.
A BWF regular and an active supporter of Sisters in Crime, Dorothy was both encouraging and exacting in her presentations to readers and writers. She inspired beginner writers to study the craft thoroughly, and be innovative.
We are fortunate to have had Dorothy Porter share her knowledge and experience so generously within the Australian writing community.
I just heard a Dorothy Porter interview on ABC Classic FM with Margaret Throsby last week. I didn’t realise that it must have been a repeat because she had died. It was such a fascinating interview. She was clearly very intelligent, very artistic and someone not afraid to challenge conventions.
Hi Joanne,
Yes, I’m so glad I had the opportunity to hear her speak at BWF. It is a small consolation that we can keep hearing Dorothy Porter through her recorded and written work.
Cheers,
Meg