Pamela Paige Porter (born July 14, 1956) is a Canadian novelist and poet. She was born in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and has also lived in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. She emigrated to Canada with her husband Rob Porter, from the fourth generation of a

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

farm family, and resides in

North Saanich The District of North Saanich is located on the Saanich Peninsula of British Columbia, approximately north of Victoria on southern Vancouver Island. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. The district is surrounded on three side ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. She has received praise for her

young adult novel Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

s, especially '' The Crazy Man.'' Her poetry has won the Prism International Poetry Prize and the Vallum Magazine Poetry Prize, and has appeared in literary magazines in Canada and the United States.

Biography

Early life

Porter lived in

until halfway through kindergarten. Her father, who worked for an insurance company, was transferred, and then the family moved to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. When Porter was 12 years old, her father was transferred to

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the parish seat and largest city of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolitan statistical ...

, where she attended Robert E. Lee Junior High. She remembers her school as being very strict; she had to address all her elders as "Yes, Ma'am, No, Ma'am, Yes, Sir, No, Sir." She was first introduced to racism at her school when everyone treated the African American staff with no respect by calling them by their first names and playing around with them. She recalls becoming very interested in world politics and the civil rights movement by watching the evening news every day. Porter was first introduced to poetry while flipping through the back of her English language arts book in class. She picked up books from the library, books of poetry and pieces that usually were short, the length she felt she could read. She was also introduced to poems by

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...

, particularly "Desert Places". She believed she was always destined to be an author, and remembers always wanting to play the game "Authors" instead of "Scrabble" as a child.

Later life

Porter finished her undergraduate degree at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

. She holds an MFA in poetry writing from the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

. When she first entered university, she was very interested in languages. She studied the German language for a few years and was interested in becoming fluent in some other languages and becoming a translator. Porter was 19 years old when she took her first writing course with John Skoyles. Other teachers were Jack Myers, Richard Hugo, and later

Lorna Crozier Lorna Crozier, (born 24 May 1948) is a Canadian poet, author, and former chair of the Writing Department at the University of Victoria. She is the author of twenty-five books and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011 as one of Ca ...

and Patrick Lane. Soon after earning her MFA, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the Bread Loaf Writer's Conference in Vermont. Porter met her husband in a bell choir. She and Rob traveled a lot together before having children; they lived in

Sunspot, New Mexico Sunspot is an unincorporated community in the Sacramento Mountains in the Lincoln National Forest in Otero County, New Mexico, United States, about south of Cloudcroft. Its elevation is . The Sunspot Solar Observatory and Apache Point Obse ...

, and then moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

before moving to

Ulm, Montana Ulm is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States. It was originally a large ranch owned by Indiana-born cattleman William Ulm. The population was 738 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Great Falls, Montana M ...

to be closer to Rob's family, who were in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. The family now resides near

Sidney, British Columbia Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia. It is one of the thirteen Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,583. Sidney ...

. Porter has been a professor at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

as a sessional instructor. For generations, Rob’s family has gone to

every summer to work on the farm.

Analysis

Influences

Pamela Porter has said that her first influence was the Bible. She was raised in a family of stalwart

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

who were strict followers of their religion. She learned to read at the age of five as her father held his finger beneath the words in a hymn book. She has early memories of hearing the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...

read aloud; this gave her an introduction to literature and diverse vocabulary at a young age. Porter's second influence was

. She has said that ''The Complete Poems of Robert Frost'' was the only book of literature in her house; her mother received it as a gift. No one had opened it until Porter pulled the book down from a high shelf and began to read it. Other influences on Porter include

Li-Young Lee Li-Young Lee (李立揚, pinyin: Lǐ Lìyáng) (born August 19, 1957) is an American poet. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, to Chinese parents. His maternal great-grandfather was Yuan Shikai, China's first Republican President, who attempted t ...

Carolyn Forché Carolyn Forché (born April 28, 1950) is an American poet, editor, professor, translator, and human rights advocate. She has received many awards for her literary work. Biography Forché was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Michael Joseph and Louise ...

, and Patrick Lane. She leans towards "poets who make effortless music with language while still holding their humanity close."

Cultural impact

Porter's work has had a great impact on juvenile audiences. Young readers voted ''The Crazy Man'' across Canada as their favourite book of the year. Her books are distinguishable from other children books as their themes deal with real-life issues and are often based on serious subjects, and are written in verse rather than conventional prose. They involve difficult and challenging experiences that children have encountered or will encounter in their lives, and are stories that many children can relate to. She has also been involved with rescuing animals, including dogs, cats, horses, and a rabbit, and taking them in as her own. Porter said her love for animals was always in her, and she began to adopt animals while living on a ranch in

Works

Children’s fiction

* ''Sky'' (

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anansi ...

, 2004) * ''The Crazy Man'' (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2005) * ''I’ll Be Watching'' (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2011)

Children’s picture books

* ''Yellow Moon, Apple Moon,'' illustrated by Matt James (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2008)

Poetry

* ''Poems for the Luminous World'' (

Victoria, BC Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

: Frog Hollow Press, 2002) * ''Stones Call Out'' (

Regina, SK Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city population of 226,404, and ...

Coteau Books Coteau Books was a small, non-profit literary press based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was established in 1975 by Bob Currie, Gary Hyland, Barbara Sapergia and Geoffrey Ursell when they realized that there was little opportunity for Sask ...

, 2006) * ''The Intelligence of Animals'' (

Omaha, NE Omaha ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 41st-most-populous city, Omaha had a popul ...

: The Backwaters Press, 2008) * ''Cathedral'' (

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

: Ronsdale Press, 2010) * ''No Ordinary Place'' (Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2012) * ''Late Moon'' (Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2013) * ''House Made of Rain'' (Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2014) * ''Defending Darkness'' (Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2016) * ''Likely Stories'' (Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2019)

Translations of her works

* ''노란 달, 사과 달'' (

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

: Glbburi, 2008) (a translation of ''Yellow Moon, Apple Moon'') * ''어느 날 그가 왔다'' (Seoul: Sanha Publishing Co., 2012) (a translation of ''The Crazy Man'') * ''Lune jaune, à bientôt'' (Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2014) (a translation of ''Yellow Moon, Apple Moon'')

Awards

For ''The Crazy Man''

* 2005 Governor General’s Award for Children's Literature * 2006 Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children * 2006 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award * 2006 Geoffrey Bilson Historical Fiction Award for Children * 2006 Jane Addams Foundation Honor Book * 2006

Texas Institute of Letters The Texas Institute of Letters is a non-profit Honor Society founded by William Harvey Vann in 1936 to celebrate Texas literature and to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The TIL’s elected membership consists of the state’s most resp ...

Friends of the Austin Public Library Award for Young Adult Book * 2007 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award * 2007 Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Award * 2007

OLA Ola may refer to: Places Panama *Olá, a subdistrict in Coclé Province * Olá District Russia *Ola, Russia, an urban settlement in Magadan Oblast * Ola District, an administrative division in Magadan Oblast * Ola (river), a river in Magadan ...

Golden Oak Award * 2007 Rocky Mountain Book Award * 2008 Red Cedar Book Award

For other works

* 2009 New Mexico Book Award for ''Yellow Moon, Apple Moon'' * 2010 Vallum Magazine Poem of the Year Award * 2011 Prism International Grand Prize for Poetry * 2011 Pat Lowther Award in Poetry finalist for ''Cathedral'' * 2012 FreeFall Magazine Poetry Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Pamela 1956 births Living people 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets American emigrants to Canada Canadian women novelists Canadian women poets 21st-century Canadian women writers Poets from British Columbia Governor General's Award–winning children's writers Novelists from British Columbia