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Helen Fogwill Porter

January 01, 1970

Agnes Helen Fogwill Porter CM (May 8, 1930 – February 16, 2023)[1] was a Canadian writer, educator, and activist.[2]

Helen Fogwill Porter
CM
Born(1930-05-08)May 8, 1930
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
DiedFebruary 16, 2023(2023-02-16) (aged 92)
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Known forWriting, Volunteering, NDP Leader
Political partyNDP
SpouseJohn Porter

Early life edit

Porter was born on May 8, 1930, on the Southside of St. John's, Newfoundland, the eldest child of Robert (Bob) Fogwill, who worked in the Newfoundland Railway freight office, and Evelyn Horwood.[2] Porter attended the Holloway School and Prince of Wales College in St. John's. As a teenager, Porter was part of the petition drive for confederation between Newfoundland and Canada. Following her graduation, she worked as a shorthand typist with the Department of Justice.

In 1953 she married John Porter;[3] the couple had four children: Kathy, Ann, John, and Stephen.[4] The family lived in Corner Brook and Fortune, Newfoundland and Labrador before returning to St. John's. John Porter died in 1983; John Porter Jr. died in 2016.

When their youngest child entered high school Porter started work at the A. C. Hunter Library. She was introduced to the writing of Margaret Duley and met other aspiring writers.

Writing career edit

One of Porter's first-published poems appeared in 1943,[5] but she became serious about writing in 1962.[6] In 1963 she began having articles, reviews, short stories and poetry published in Maclean's, Chatelaine, Star Weekly and Saturday Night. Her works were then further published in the Quill & Quire, The Fiddlehead, The Antigonish Review and the Journal of Canadian Fiction.[7] At the beginning of her writing career, Porter based most of her stories out of England, Scotland, or the United States because she believed that nobody was interested in stories about Newfoundland.[8]

It was not until 1973 that she devoted her full-time to writing.[7] By then, Porter's short stories, articles, poems, plays and reviews were published throughout Canada and abroad. In 1977 she collaborated with Bernice Morgan and Geraldine Rubia on writing From this Place, an anthology from women writers of Newfoundland and Labrador.[6] Porter's Below the Bridge was published in 1979, a story about her childhood in St. John's.[8] It was later adapted to audiobook format.[9] Porter said,

One experience that I never had again is the one I had with writing Below the Bridge because that is probably the book that I most wanted to write. It's a memoir history about growing up on the South Side of St. John's in the 1930s and 1940s. That was a book I had to write.[10]

Porter's first novel, January, February, June or July (1988), took on the then-taboo subject of abortion.[11] This was followed by A Long and Lonely Ride (1991) and Finishing School (2007). Her most recent publication is the poetry collection Full Circle. Porter's work has been said to construct narratives "that focus on commonplace events in order to examine the motivations,  material conditions, constraints and desires that inform women's actions and responses in apparently non-dramatic  situations."[12]

Porter was a founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada (of which she has been given a lifetime membership), and served on the boards of PEN and the Writers Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador (WANL). Porter taught creative writing with Memorial University Extension Arts from 1976-1990 and with the division of Continuing Studies from 1991.[2] She also worked with the Visiting Artists' Program of the Newfoundland Teachers' Association visiting schools to impart an appreciation of literature to school children.[13] Porter was also a founding member of the Newfoundland Writer's Guild.[6] As part of that group, she helped bring Metroverse, a Canada Council initiative placing poetry on city buses, to St. John's. This project led her to get involved with a similar one in Alberta called "Take the Poetry Route" that put pieces of poetry inside buses in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, St. Albert, Sherwood Park, and Medicine Hat.[8]

Political life edit

Porter was heavily involved in the women's movement in the early 1970s.[7] She was also a founding member of the Newfoundland Status of Women Council.[11] In the decade between 1975 and 1985, Porter ran for election to the Canadian Parliament as a New Democratic Party representative four times. She ran in the riding of Mount Pearl, a suburb of St. John's, Newfoundland.

Porter's political goals were to get the economy back on track and to gain equality for women.[2] Porter has been described as "an outstanding candidate with an enormous commitment to her community". Her audience also stated that: "Helen Porter will fight for real change for the benefit of all Newfoundlanders." In 2003 The Helen Porter Fund was established to help women NDP candidates. She marched for causes and protested events from the Vietnam War to a Metrobus strike to St. John's heritage preservation.

Awards edit

At least fifteen of Porter's works were honoured with awards in the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Competitions throughout the 1960s and 1970s. This included Bus Ride, a conversation between two women coming home from bingo; this later became a radio play broadcast on CBC Radio as well as a one act play performed at a festival on the upper concourse of the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre.

Porter's novel January, February, June or July won the Young Adult Canadian Book Award from the Canadian Library Association in 1989,[2] and was short-listed for Books in Canada W. H. Smith Best First Novel Award. Porter also received the year's lifetime achievement award for her length of time as a leading figure in the Guild. Porter received the Newfoundland & Labrador Arts Council's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.[14] Memorial University of Newfoundland granted her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in 1997. She was appointed Member of the Order of Canada (CM)) in December 2015.[15] It was presented during a special ceremony in St. John's.[16] That same year a footbridge spanning the Waterford River was dedicated to her.[17]

The Helen Fogwill Porter Fund edit

In March 2003, the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party launched a fund in Porter's name. The fund aids women who are seeking to run as an NDP representative. The fund assists women at the provincial level in general and by elections. The financial assistance provides child care, campaign costs and household assistance. The Helen Fogwill Porter Fund also support conferences where female candidates can meet with each other. Nancy Riche stated, "The province needs more women in the legislature. If Helen had won in one of the elections in which she ran, she would have made more than a difference. She would have changed the political landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador."[18]

Works edit

Articles edit

  • People I Should Like to Meet (1945)[19]
  • Growing Up on the South Side. The Atlantic Advocate (September 1965): 35-39.
  • But Where Is Everything? (1975)[20]
  • To rearrange the past. Books in Canada 23:1 (1994): 21-23.
  • The Road Taken (2000)[21]
  • My History Lessons (2000)[22]
  • It would have been our 47th anniversary. National Post (2000-10-18)
  • OK, so my meals weren't exactly gourmet. National Post (2002-07-08)

Books edit

  • From this Place - with Bernice Morgan and Geraldine Rubia (1977; ISBN 0-920502-02-4)
  • Below the Bridge (1980; ISBN 0-919948-72-3)
  • January, February, June or July (1988; ISBN 0-920911-27-7)
  • A Long and Lonely Ride (1991; ISBN 1-55081-011-1)
  • We Came From Over the Sea, British War Brides in Newfoundland - with Barbara B. Barrett C.M., Eileen Dicks, Isobel Brown, Hilda Chaulk Murray (1996)
  • Finishing School (2007; ISBN 978-1-895900-88-0)

Poems edit

  • The Business of Getting Up (1943)[23]
  • She's Over Eighty, You Know (1950)[24]
  • They Do It Every Summer (1954)
  • The Children Are Gone (1979)
  • Moratorium (1999)
  • To My Son
  • Sunday Best (1992)[25]
  • Food for Thought (1996)[26]
  • Gwenda (1999)[27]
  • Full Circle (2018; ISBN 978-1-550817-13-3)

Plays and short stories edit

  • Teen-Age Tragedy (1946)[28]
  • For Every Man an Island (1982; ISBN 0-919519-09-1)
  • The Five- Dollar Bet (1969)
  • Moving Day
  • Hot Night In July (1991)[29]

References edit

  1. ^ Helen Fogwill Porter | 1930 – 2023 | obituary
  2. ^ a b c d e "Porter, Agnes Helen Fogwill." Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. Ed. Cyril F. Poole. 1st ed. Vol. 4. 1993. Print.
  3. ^ "Porter-Fogwill Wedding". Daily News. 1953-07-24. p. 5. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  4. ^ Who's Who in the Writers' Union of Canada. 3rd ed. Toronto, Ontario: Writers' Union of Canada, 1988. Print
  5. ^ Porter, Helen Fogwill (2020). "On Getting Started as a Writer". In Jarvis, Dale Gilbert (ed.). Mug Up Memories (PDF). St. John's, NL: Heritage NL. pp. 25–28. ISBN 978-1-988899-15-2.
  6. ^ a b c Lippa, Kathleen. "Living a St. John's Life". The Express. 12 Apr. 2000. Print.
  7. ^ a b c Marian A.White. Ed. A Woman's Almanac,Voices from Newfoundland and Labrador. St. John's, NL. Breakwater Books. 1989. Print.
  8. ^ a b c White, Linda. "Finding aid to Helen Porter fonds (COLL-013)." Archives and Special Collections, Memorial University of Newfoundland. 1990. Print.
  9. ^ Rendell, Susan (2010). "Below the Bridge: an audio book experience of St. John's lost South Side". The Trident: 8. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  10. ^ Porter, Marilyn (1998). "A Conversation with Four Newfoundland Women Writers". Atlantis. 22 (2): 39–46.
  11. ^ a b "Order of Canada a 'surprise' for N.L. author Helen Fogwill Porter". CBC News. 1 Jan 2016. Retrieved 4 Feb 2022.
  12. ^ Fuller, Danielle (1999). "Helen Porter's Everyday Survival Stories: A Literary Encounter with Feminist Standpoint Theory". Atlantis. 24 (1): 122–133.
  13. ^ "People Reel: Newfoundland's Latest Newsmakers" (PDF). The Overcast. January 2016. p. 22. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  14. ^ Gard, Peter. "Political types frequent arts council award". ARTS. Print
  15. ^ "Order of Canada Appointments". The Governor General of Canada His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston. Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  16. ^ "Helen Fogwill Porter collects Order of Canada". CBC News. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 4 Feb 2022.
  17. ^ "St. John's footbridge dedicated to Helen Fogwill Porter". CBC News. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 4 Feb 2022.
  18. ^ "NDP launches fund to help women run". The Telegram. 6 Mar. 2003. Print.
  19. ^ "Helen Fogwill On Her Hobby is Third Winner". Daily News. 1945-03-22. p. 8. Retrieved 4 Feb 2022.
  20. ^ Porter, Helen (1975). "But Where Is Everything?". The Book of Newfoundland. Vol. 5. St. John's: Newfoundland Book Publishers (1967), Ltd. pp. 418–422.
  21. ^ Porter, Helen Fogwill (2000). "The Road Taken". TickleAce. 37: 61–69.
  22. ^ Porter, Helen (2001). "My History Lessons". Amulree's Legacy. St. John's: Newfoundland Historical Society. pp. 7–9.
  23. ^ Fogwill, Helen (1943). "The Business of Getting Up". The Collegian: 20.
  24. ^ Porter, Helen Fogwill (2011). "She's Over Eighty, You Know". Newfoundland Quarterly. 103 (4): 7.
  25. ^ Porter, Helen Fogwill (1992). "Sunday Best". TickleAce. 23: 54.
  26. ^ Porter, Helen Fogwill (1996). "Food for Thought". TickleAce. 32: 86.
  27. ^ Porter, Helen Fogwill (1999). "Gwenda". Newfoundland Quarterly. 92 (4): 12.
  28. ^ Fogwill, Helen (December 1946). "Teen-Age Tragedy". College Courier. p. 2. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  29. ^ Porter, Helen Fogwill (1991). "Hot Night In July". TickleAce. 21: 33.

External links edit

  • A Night Out and Guns and Lovers (excerpts from Finishing School)
  • Helen Fogwill Porter: One of the Tribe by Bernice Morgan
  • Helen Porter at Library of Congress, with 2 library catalogue records
  • Oh Take Me As I Am by Bruce Porter

January 01, 1970
helen, fogwill, porter, agnes, 1930, february, 2023, canadian, writer, educator, activist, cmborn, 1930, 1930st, john, newfoundland, labrador, canadadiedfebruary, 2023, 2023, aged, john, newfoundland, labrador, canadanationalitycanadianknown, forwriting, volun. Agnes Helen Fogwill Porter CM May 8 1930 February 16 2023 1 was a Canadian writer educator and activist 2 Helen Fogwill PorterCMBorn 1930 05 08 May 8 1930St John s Newfoundland and Labrador CanadaDiedFebruary 16 2023 2023 02 16 aged 92 St John s Newfoundland and Labrador CanadaNationalityCanadianKnown forWriting Volunteering NDP LeaderPolitical partyNDPSpouseJohn Porter Contents 1 Early life 2 Writing career 3 Political life 4 Awards 5 The Helen Fogwill Porter Fund 6 Works 6 1 Articles 6 2 Books 6 3 Poems 6 4 Plays and short stories 7 References 8 External linksEarly life editPorter was born on May 8 1930 on the Southside of St John s Newfoundland the eldest child of Robert Bob Fogwill who worked in the Newfoundland Railway freight office and Evelyn Horwood 2 Porter attended the Holloway School and Prince of Wales College in St John s As a teenager Porter was part of the petition drive for confederation between Newfoundland and Canada Following her graduation she worked as a shorthand typist with the Department of Justice In 1953 she married John Porter 3 the couple had four children Kathy Ann John and Stephen 4 The family lived in Corner Brook and Fortune Newfoundland and Labrador before returning to St John s John Porter died in 1983 John Porter Jr died in 2016 When their youngest child entered high school Porter started work at the A C Hunter Library She was introduced to the writing of Margaret Duley and met other aspiring writers Writing career editOne of Porter s first published poems appeared in 1943 5 but she became serious about writing in 1962 6 In 1963 she began having articles reviews short stories and poetry published in Maclean s Chatelaine Star Weekly and Saturday Night Her works were then further published in the Quill amp Quire The Fiddlehead The Antigonish Review and the Journal of Canadian Fiction 7 At the beginning of her writing career Porter based most of her stories out of England Scotland or the United States because she believed that nobody was interested in stories about Newfoundland 8 It was not until 1973 that she devoted her full time to writing 7 By then Porter s short stories articles poems plays and reviews were published throughout Canada and abroad In 1977 she collaborated with Bernice Morgan and Geraldine Rubia on writing From this Place an anthology from women writers of Newfoundland and Labrador 6 Porter s Below the Bridge was published in 1979 a story about her childhood in St John s 8 It was later adapted to audiobook format 9 Porter said One experience that I never had again is the one I had with writing Below the Bridge because that is probably the book that I most wanted to write It s a memoir history about growing up on the South Side of St John s in the 1930s and 1940s That was a book I had to write 10 Porter s first novel January February June or July 1988 took on the then taboo subject of abortion 11 This was followed by A Long and Lonely Ride 1991 and Finishing School 2007 Her most recent publication is the poetry collection Full Circle Porter s work has been said to construct narratives that focus on commonplace events in order to examine the motivations material conditions constraints and desires that inform women s actions and responses in apparently non dramatic situations 12 Porter was a founding member of the Writers Union of Canada of which she has been given a lifetime membership and served on the boards of PEN and the Writers Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador WANL Porter taught creative writing with Memorial University Extension Arts from 1976 1990 and with the division of Continuing Studies from 1991 2 She also worked with the Visiting Artists Program of the Newfoundland Teachers Association visiting schools to impart an appreciation of literature to school children 13 Porter was also a founding member of the Newfoundland Writer s Guild 6 As part of that group she helped bring Metroverse a Canada Council initiative placing poetry on city buses to St John s This project led her to get involved with a similar one in Alberta called Take the Poetry Route that put pieces of poetry inside buses in Edmonton Lethbridge Fort McMurray St Albert Sherwood Park and Medicine Hat 8 Political life editPorter was heavily involved in the women s movement in the early 1970s 7 She was also a founding member of the Newfoundland Status of Women Council 11 In the decade between 1975 and 1985 Porter ran for election to the Canadian Parliament as a New Democratic Party representative four times She ran in the riding of Mount Pearl a suburb of St John s Newfoundland Porter s political goals were to get the economy back on track and to gain equality for women 2 Porter has been described as an outstanding candidate with an enormous commitment to her community Her audience also stated that Helen Porter will fight for real change for the benefit of all Newfoundlanders In 2003 The Helen Porter Fund was established to help women NDP candidates She marched for causes and protested events from the Vietnam War to a Metrobus strike to St John s heritage preservation Awards editAt least fifteen of Porter s works were honoured with awards in the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Competitions throughout the 1960s and 1970s This included Bus Ride a conversation between two women coming home from bingo this later became a radio play broadcast on CBC Radio as well as a one act play performed at a festival on the upper concourse of the St John s Arts and Culture Centre Porter s novel January February June or July won the Young Adult Canadian Book Award from the Canadian Library Association in 1989 2 and was short listed for Books in Canada W H Smith Best First Novel Award Porter also received the year s lifetime achievement award for her length of time as a leading figure in the Guild Porter received the Newfoundland amp Labrador Arts Council s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993 14 Memorial University of Newfoundland granted her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in 1997 She was appointed Member of the Order of Canada CM in December 2015 15 It was presented during a special ceremony in St John s 16 That same year a footbridge spanning the Waterford River was dedicated to her 17 The Helen Fogwill Porter Fund editIn March 2003 the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party launched a fund in Porter s name The fund aids women who are seeking to run as an NDP representative The fund assists women at the provincial level in general and by elections The financial assistance provides child care campaign costs and household assistance The Helen Fogwill Porter Fund also support conferences where female candidates can meet with each other Nancy Riche stated The province needs more women in the legislature If Helen had won in one of the elections in which she ran she would have made more than a difference She would have changed the political landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador 18 Works editArticles edit People I Should Like to Meet 1945 19 Growing Up on the South Side The Atlantic Advocate September 1965 35 39 But Where Is Everything 1975 20 To rearrange the past Books in Canada 23 1 1994 21 23 The Road Taken 2000 21 My History Lessons 2000 22 It would have been our 47th anniversary National Post 2000 10 18 OK so my meals weren t exactly gourmet National Post 2002 07 08 Books edit From this Place with Bernice Morgan and Geraldine Rubia 1977 ISBN 0 920502 02 4 Below the Bridge 1980 ISBN 0 919948 72 3 January February June or July 1988 ISBN 0 920911 27 7 A Long and Lonely Ride 1991 ISBN 1 55081 011 1 We Came From Over the Sea British War Brides in Newfoundland with Barbara B Barrett C M Eileen Dicks Isobel Brown Hilda Chaulk Murray 1996 Finishing School 2007 ISBN 978 1 895900 88 0 Poems edit The Business of Getting Up 1943 23 She s Over Eighty You Know 1950 24 They Do It Every Summer 1954 The Children Are Gone 1979 Moratorium 1999 To My Son Sunday Best 1992 25 Food for Thought 1996 26 Gwenda 1999 27 Full Circle 2018 ISBN 978 1 550817 13 3 Plays and short stories edit Teen Age Tragedy 1946 28 For Every Man an Island 1982 ISBN 0 919519 09 1 The Five Dollar Bet 1969 Moving Day Hot Night In July 1991 29 References edit Helen Fogwill Porter 1930 2023 obituary a b c d e Porter Agnes Helen Fogwill Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador Ed Cyril F Poole 1st ed Vol 4 1993 Print Porter Fogwill Wedding Daily News 1953 07 24 p 5 Retrieved 4 February 2022 Who s Who in the Writers Union of Canada 3rd ed Toronto Ontario Writers Union of Canada 1988 Print Porter Helen Fogwill 2020 On Getting Started as a Writer In Jarvis Dale Gilbert ed Mug Up Memories PDF St John s NL Heritage NL pp 25 28 ISBN 978 1 988899 15 2 a b c Lippa Kathleen Living a St John s Life The Express 12 Apr 2000 Print a b c Marian A White Ed A Woman s Almanac Voices from Newfoundland and Labrador St John s NL Breakwater Books 1989 Print a b c White Linda Finding aid to Helen Porter fonds COLL 013 Archives and Special Collections Memorial University of Newfoundland 1990 Print Rendell Susan 2010 Below the Bridge an audio book experience of St John s lost South Side The Trident 8 Retrieved 4 February 2022 Porter Marilyn 1998 A Conversation with Four Newfoundland Women Writers Atlantis 22 2 39 46 a b Order of Canada a surprise for N L author Helen Fogwill Porter CBC News 1 Jan 2016 Retrieved 4 Feb 2022 Fuller Danielle 1999 Helen Porter s Everyday Survival Stories A Literary Encounter with Feminist Standpoint Theory Atlantis 24 1 122 133 People Reel Newfoundland s Latest Newsmakers PDF The Overcast January 2016 p 22 Retrieved 4 February 2022 Gard Peter Political types frequent arts council award ARTS Print Order of Canada Appointments The Governor General of Canada His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston Governor General of Canada Retrieved 31 December 2015 Helen Fogwill Porter collects Order of Canada CBC News 18 May 2016 Retrieved 4 Feb 2022 St John s footbridge dedicated to Helen Fogwill Porter CBC News 10 September 2015 Retrieved 4 Feb 2022 NDP launches fund to help women run The Telegram 6 Mar 2003 Print Helen Fogwill On Her Hobby is Third Winner Daily News 1945 03 22 p 8 Retrieved 4 Feb 2022 Porter Helen 1975 But Where Is Everything The Book of Newfoundland Vol 5 St John s Newfoundland Book Publishers 1967 Ltd pp 418 422 Porter Helen Fogwill 2000 The Road Taken TickleAce 37 61 69 Porter Helen 2001 My History Lessons Amulree s Legacy St John s Newfoundland Historical Society pp 7 9 Fogwill Helen 1943 The Business of Getting Up The Collegian 20 Porter Helen Fogwill 2011 She s Over Eighty You Know Newfoundland Quarterly 103 4 7 Porter Helen Fogwill 1992 Sunday Best TickleAce 23 54 Porter Helen Fogwill 1996 Food for Thought TickleAce 32 86 Porter Helen Fogwill 1999 Gwenda Newfoundland Quarterly 92 4 12 Fogwill Helen December 1946 Teen Age Tragedy College Courier p 2 Retrieved 4 February 2022 Porter Helen Fogwill 1991 Hot Night In July TickleAce 21 33 External links editA Night Out and Guns and Lovers excerpts from Finishing School Helen Fogwill Porter One of the Tribe by Bernice Morgan Helen Porter at Library of Congress with 2 library catalogue records Oh Take Me As I Am by Bruce Porter Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Helen Fogwill Porter amp oldid 1140941633, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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