Dorothy Porter

• Name — Dorothy Porter • Birth Name — Dorothy Featherstone Porter • Born — 26 March 1954 • Birthplace — Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Died — 10 December 2008 • Place of death — Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Occupation — Poet • Education — Queenwood School for Girls • Alma Mater — University of Sydney

Porter was born in Sydney. Her father was barrister Chester Porter and her mother, Jean, was a high school chemistry teacher. Porter attended the Queenwood School for Girls. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English and History.

Porter was an open lesbian and in 1993 moved to Melbourne to be with her partner, fellow writer Andrea Goldsmith. The couple were coincidentally both shortlisted in the 2003 Miles Franklin Award for literature. In 2009, Porter was posthumously recognised by the website Samesame.com.au as one of the most influential gay and lesbian Australians. Porter was a self-described pagan, committed to pagan principles of courage, stoicism and commitment to the earth and beauty.

Porter had been suffering from breast cancer for four years before her death, but "many thought she was winning the battle," according to journalist Matt Buchanan. In the last three weeks of her life, she became very sick and was admitted to hospital, where she was in intensive care for the final 10 days. She died aged 54 on 10 December 2008. On 21 February 2010, actress Cate Blanchett read excerpts from Porter's posthumously published short work on literary criticism and emotions in literature, On Passion, at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne. Brett Dean dedicated the first movement of his "Epitaphs for string quintet (viola quintet) (2010)" in memory of Dorothy Porter.