On 10 December 2008 Australia lost one of its finest poets. Dorothy Porter died of complications from breast cancer at St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Melbourne. Dorothy was one of the most popular and most loved of contemporary Australian writers. She was also highly acclaimed by critics. Two of her verse novels, What a Piece of Work and Wild Surmise, were short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award. Her most recent verse novel, El Dorado, was short-listed for the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award. Dorothy always believed that poetry and poets deserved a wide readership and she set about capturing the minds and hearts of readers with her passionate, ambitious, page-turning books. 

Dorothy Porter’s early death has deeply shocked and saddened the literary community. Those who knew her could attest to her vigour and her distinctive elan. She was gifted with a vibrant sense of humour and a mercurial and zestful imagination. To be in her company was to be in a charmed and charged space. She rose to public prominence after the publication in 1996 of The Monkey’s Mask, which achieved extraordinary sales and was made into a film by Samantha Lang. She also wrote two libretti for composer Jonathan Mills, The Ghost Wife and The Eternity Man, which has also been made into a film, directed by Julien Temple. It was screened at the Sydney Film Festival in June 2008 and on ABC TV on 18 January 2009.