Vale Dorothy Porter

Writer Dorothy Porter's funeral was held in Melbourne yesterday. She died from complications due to cancer, age 54. A writer at the height of her powers, Dorothy's most recent publication was El Dorado, her fifth verse novel. It was shortlisted for a number of awards including the Prime Minister's Literary Award for fiction, and Australian Book Review said "this mature and accomplished work...puts her at the top of the distinguished class of contemporary Australian poets when it comes to livres composés". She was most recently working with Tim Finn on a rock opera called January. Two of her verse novels have been 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 made of her verse novel of the same name. Also a chamber opera The Eternity Man, by Dorothy Porter and Jonathan Mills premiered in London in 2003. Based on the life of Arthur Stace who for almost 40 years roamed the streets of Sydney writing 'Eternity' on the footpaths, it was one of three winners of the inaugural Genesis Foundation Opera Award. It had its international premiere at the Almeida Theatre in London, and was adapted for film, directed by Julien Temple and starring Grant Doyle and Christa Hughes. It premiered with a special Opera House screening at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2001 and will be shown on the ABC in January 2009.