Dorothy Porter (1954–2008) published her first book of poetry, Little Hoodlum, in 1975 when she was 21; subsequent volumes included Bison (1979) and Driving too Fast (1989). Akhenaten, the first of the 'verse novels' for which Porter was renowned, was published in 1992. The following year, she moved to Melbourne to live with the novelist Andrea Goldsmith, who was her partner for the rest of her life. The Monkey's Mask (1994) won several awards and was made into a film starring Kelly McGillis and Susie Porter. What a Piece of Work (1999) and Wild Surmise (2002) were both shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Porter's last verse novel was El Dorado (2007). The Bee Hut was published posthumously in 2009, as was Love Poems (2010), selected by Goldsmith.
Rick Amor first saw Porter on television. Intrigued that she didn't smile, he made a drawing of her. Soon after, he asked if she would like to sit to him. His austere painting, showing Porter uncharacteristically quiet and still, is a tiny one that forces the viewer to come in close. She and Goldsmith agreed that the portraitist had made her look older than she was. It was some time before the painting came to seem, to Goldsmith, to show her partner as she might have looked, had she not died.
Gift of Andrea Goldsmith 2011. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Rick Amor/Copyright Agency, 2022
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