Gutsy Girls: Love, Poetry and Sisterhood

by Josie McSkimming

Dorothy Porter was one of Australia' s most charismatic and courageous literary figures. Achieving broader fame through her bestselling queer crime verse novel, The Monkey' s Mask, and its film adaptation, she took poetry and performance to new heights. Her younger sister, Josie McSkimming, watched Dot become an award-winning poet, but it was a family of complex dynamics. Born to renowned barrister Chester Porter, Dot, Josie and their sister, Mary, grew up in an unpredictable family home on Sydney' s northern beaches. Each forged her own impressive career, but Josie and Dot sought very different escapes from their formidable father. Josie fell into (and out of) evangelical Christianity and psychotherapy while Dot found ' the Arts' and sex. With unprecedented access to Porter' s personal diaries and letters, Gutsy Girls is an intimate story of sisterhood, finding creative power and blazing your own trail.

303 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 4, 2025

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried big, ugly tears reading this. You may have concerns about the objectivity of a sister writing biography about a beloved older sister, her protector, but I can think of no better way of doing justice to the complex, flawed woman that was Dorothy Porter. I wish we had gotten more of Dorothy's poetry, but I'm grateful for what we got.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Saisfied all the requirements of a good bio except for one unfortunately, for me, a major one - which was that though there are photos these are scattered throughout and not all in the one section. This meant, for the first 50 or so pages while still establishing who was who, that I had to flip through the entire book to attatch the right name to the right face in the lineop of faces already in my mind from first examining the photos. Ilustrations, in whatever form, embed in my mind as deeply as words. Expressions, stance or pose, eyes, set of lips, where they stand in relation to others, clothing - all sorts of things - all tell a story too. I have tried to understand but can find no reason for making illustrations hard to find. Authors of auto biographies and biographies - please don't do this! it takes readers like me out of what the words are unfolding. Rant over. This book is wonderful, generous in its sharing, all family members, the author's sisters and the author herself are alive on the page; the author particularly in a good way. She does not tell us what to think but simply shares warts and all, in a style that moves comfortably between the highly emotional and the matter of fact. Its a satisfying, easy to read, complex work that left me knowing so much more about the person and the writer Dorothy Porter than when I started. Always the aim of a bio of course but not always achieved. I think what is central to its success is in its title as everything and everybody points mainly back to Dorothy Porter with a bit more of tthe authors experiences than other family members, but it works. Her presence enhances, and only takes centre stage where necessary.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had quite a dichotomous reaction to this book. I reacted to the over worshipful and almost hagiographic relationship that the author displays toward her sister. I’ve read a certain amount of poetry, and I’m not an expert, but most of the poetry quoted didn’t seem particularly outstanding. The poetics didn’t seem particularly poetical (in the widest sense), even if the sentiment was real and strongly felt (maybe). And as a person I didn’t find her an attractive personality at all. From the outside there didn’t seem much worth the worship. The sisters obviously had trouble with their father, but then Dorothy supported him at one particular time when she really should not have. I got tired of the sister’s middle class problems, particularly in the last quarter of the book. And there were places during the author’s mawkish prose where I laughed out loud, even when there was nothing at all funny in what was being expressed.
Despite all of these criticisms, the book was written with clarity, and the story was well told, and deserved 4 stars for the structure if not the content.

[Trudy Webb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would predict that many of those familiar with Dorothy Porter’s work would find this a very interesting perspective on her life. The writing is superb, deep and emotive. For someone like me, unfamiliar entirely with her work, I found her extremely unlikeable due to the poor way she treated her partners and relationships. Sadly, the entire family were less than endearing although the strong sisterly bonds were admirable. I would not have finished this book if I wasn’t committed to reading it for Book Club.

[Nettie Hulme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kinda gobbled this book up over 2 days - feeling a little voyueristic as Josie writes with honest reflections and raw emotions of difficult/traumatic family life. How incredible women are to not just survive but thrive despite the misogyny of this violent patriarchal world. I was also left with sadness as Dorothy did not ‘go gentle into the good night’ fiesty till the end - hope she is feasting with her dead poet friends now …

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary book. I was so taken by the way in which the author seemed to effortlessly weave family memoir, poetry appreciation & social history. Recommend. And will reread poems & download music I collected along the way.

[Sue Gould · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - a fascinating biography of poet Dorothy Porter, through the eyes of her youngest sister - which is also a very personal memoir of the writer and of her family and their complex relationships.

[Ann Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A honest revelation of Dorothy Porter’s life told by her sister Josie - and how the 3 sisters interacted - at times a bit too drawn out.

[Stephanie Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, honest and reflective family biography weaving in the poetry of Dorothy Porter.