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Alicia Longwell interviewing Anne Porter at age 99 for East End Stories, 2011
Alicia Longwell presents “Anne Porter: A Poet Among Us”
May 1, 2020, 5 pm - 6 pm
The life and work of American poet Anne Porter will be revealed though her own writings, paintings by her husband Fairfield Porter and other artists, excerpts from a 1953 art film by Rudy Burckhardt, and excerpts from a never-before-seen 2011 interview with Alicia G. Longwell, Ph.D., The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator at the Museum. The public is invited to join the live stream talk and take part in a live chat following the presentation.
“Anne Porter was such a frequent subject in Fairfield’s paintings that we may feel we already know her intimately,” said Longwell. “Yet it is in her poetry that we gain an appreciation for her love of nature, family, and humanity.”
Discussing her late arrival on the poetry scene, Porter is quoted as saying, “People don’t use their creativity as they get older. They think this is supposed to be the end of this and the end of that. But you can’t always be so sure that it is the end.” This sentiment seems more pertinent than ever in these times of crisis.
Longwell will read short selections of Porter’s poetry, as well as excerpts of work by her friends John Ashbery, Barbara Guest, Frank O’Hara, Kenneth Koch, James Schuyler—members of the witty, urbane New York School of Poets. The presentation will include paintings and drawings by Fairfield Porter and other artists, as well as excerpts from Longwell’s 2011 interview with Anne at her home just before her death.
During the program, Longwell will also present an excerpt from A Day in the Life of a Cleaning Woman, a 13-minute, black and white silent film made by photographer Rudy Burckhardt in 1953, with a storyline conceived by Anne. Burckhardt gave comic and surreal treatment to Anne’s plight—raising five children in a busy household—in the film, which features the poet in the starring role of Mrs. Rocker. Made during several weeks when Burckhardt, his wife Edith Schloss, and their young son were houseguests in the Porters’ home, the film tells the story of a down-and-out cleaning woman who buys an enchanted dishmop that magically cleans the entire house. With a supporting cast of Schloss, Larry Rivers, and Fairfield Porter as handyman Elmer Turnip, the film offers a rare and intimate look at the creative chaos of the Porter home.
Anne Porter (1911 to 2011) wrote poetry from childhood, but it wasn’t until after Fairfield Porter’s death in 1975 that she began to dedicate herself to her work, publishing her first volume, The Birds of Passage, in 1989. Her collection An Altogether Different Language: Poems 1934-1994, published in 1994 when she was 83, was named a finalist for the National Book Award. Living Things: Collected Poems was published in 2006.
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Alicia Longwell presents “Anne Porter: A Poet Among Us”
May 1, 2020, 5 pm - 6 pm
The life and work of American poet Anne Porter will be revealed though her own writings, paintings by her husband Fairfield Porter and other artists, excerpts from a 1953 art film by Rudy Burckhardt, and excerpts from a never-before-seen 2011 interview with Alicia G. Longwell, Ph.D., The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chief Curator at the Museum. The public is invited to join the live stream talk and take part in a live chat following the presentation.
“Anne Porter was such a frequent subject in Fairfield’s paintings that we may feel we already know her intimately,” said Longwell. “Yet it is in her poetry that we gain an appreciation for her love of nature, family, and humanity.”
Discussing her late arrival on the poetry scene, Porter is quoted as saying, “People don’t use their creativity as they get older. They think this is supposed to be the end of this and the end of that. But you can’t always be so sure that it is the end.” This sentiment seems more pertinent than ever in these times of crisis.
Longwell will read short selections of Porter’s poetry, as well as excerpts of work by her friends John Ashbery, Barbara Guest, Frank O’Hara, Kenneth Koch, James Schuyler—members of the witty, urbane New York School of Poets. The presentation will include paintings and drawings by Fairfield Porter and other artists, as well as excerpts from Longwell’s 2011 interview with Anne at her home just before her death.
During the program, Longwell will also present an excerpt from A Day in the Life of a Cleaning Woman, a 13-minute, black and white silent film made by photographer Rudy Burckhardt in 1953, with a storyline conceived by Anne. Burckhardt gave comic and surreal treatment to Anne’s plight—raising five children in a busy household—in the film, which features the poet in the starring role of Mrs. Rocker. Made during several weeks when Burckhardt, his wife Edith Schloss, and their young son were houseguests in the Porters’ home, the film tells the story of a down-and-out cleaning woman who buys an enchanted dishmop that magically cleans the entire house. With a supporting cast of Schloss, Larry Rivers, and Fairfield Porter as handyman Elmer Turnip, the film offers a rare and intimate look at the creative chaos of the Porter home.
Anne Porter (1911 to 2011) wrote poetry from childhood, but it wasn’t until after Fairfield Porter’s death in 1975 that she began to dedicate herself to her work, publishing her first volume, The Birds of Passage, in 1989. Her collection An Altogether Different Language: Poems 1934-1994, published in 1994 when she was 83, was named a finalist for the National Book Award. Living Things: Collected Poems was published in 2006.
