Julian May
Porteous with Dave Densmore in 2014.
Continued from Page 14
different from the way they would have
done it hundreds of years ago.”
“I love fishing and fishing people,” Por-
teous said.
Her time fishing led to her deep rever-
ence for the way of life and culture. She
said that she connects with ”the rawness of
experience of being out there on the seas
and the way that puts you in touch with the
really important things in life.”
Porteous has a small model of a fish-
ing boat called a ‘coble’, which were tra-
ditional, open wooden boats around 30
feet in length. Cobles represent a largely
bygone era of traditional fishing in the Nor-
thumberland region. Part of her calling to
write about fishing comes from the changes
she’s observed in her village and the disap-
pearance of traditional fishing culture.
Stories about the sea
The tradition and power of reading
poetry aloud as public storytelling is of
great importance to Porteous. She reflected
on the FisherPoets Gathering as a storytell-
ing event.
“Although it’s all individuals telling
their stories and sharing poems they’ve
made up, there’s a strong communal feel.
That’s where poetry comes from. It’s an
ancient art form. Poetry and storytelling
about the sea are actually among the oldest
poems and stories we have,” she said.
Porteous has published several volumes
of poetry but she most enjoys presenting
her work in person or through an audio
medium such as radio.
“Radio is a lovely medium for poetry
because that enables an intimacy between
the person hearing it and the speaker,” Por-
teous said.
She is eager to present poetry at the
2021 FisherPoets Gathering and to listen
in to old friends, legends and new faces.
She said she is humbled to be presenting
alongside legendary fisherpoets.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021 // 15