Melinda Camber Porter (18 September 1953 – 9 October 2008) was a British artist, author, poet, journalist and filmmaker, a modernist who worked in oils, watercolor and ink. She was known for combining the mediums of film, painting and writing.
Her works have been shown at The School of Visual Arts in New York, Oxford University, the Embassy of France, La Maison Francaise and Lincoln Center's Clark Theatre. Her paintings, poetry and films have been critically well received. As a journalist, Porter interviewed renowned writers, artists and filmmakers over several decades for The Times.
Early life and education
Melinda Camber was born on 18 September 1953 in London and grew up on Wimpole Street. Her father was a psychoanalyst who kept his offices in the family home in the center of London's medical district. From early on, she was exposed to the arts, frequenting the National Gallery, and immersing herself in drawing and painting. When she was six she was given William Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience which later influenced her visual style of writing.
She attended school at the City of London School for Girls, and was awarded scholarships to both Oxford and Cambridge. In honour of this, the school granted the students a day off, a privilege normally reserved only for the death of royalty. She chose Oxford and earned a First Class Honours degree in Modern Languages (French and Latin), graduating from Lady Margaret Hall in 1974. After graduation, she met John Robert Porter, the son of Sir Leslie Porter and Dame Shirley Porter; the couple wed in Paris and lived on the Quai Voltaire overlooking the Louvre. The marriage ended after five years, and Camber Porter relocated to New York in 1982.
Family life
Camber Porter married her second husband, Joseph Flicek, on 2 July 1985 in his native South Dakota, and they honeymooned in China. She based a series of paintings and the novel Floating Boundary on the trip to China. Frequent visits with Flicek's family in South Dakota inspired her novel Badlands. The couple divided their time between Manhattan and Sag Harbor. Porter and Flicek had two sons. After Porter was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the family took up permanent residence in Sag Harbor for her convalescence. Porter died on 9 October 2008 at the age of 55.
Early career
While in Paris, Porter was a French cultural correspondent for The Times. She interviewed many notable figures including François Truffaut and Louis Malle. She profiled directors Mike Nichols and Ingmar Bergman. A number of these interviews became part of her book, Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture.
Publications
Fine arts
Fashion in the Time of Queen Elizabeth I (Blake Press, 2015) Luminous Bodies: Circles of Celebration (Blake Press, 2015) Luminous Bodies: Circles of Mourning (Blake Press, 2015)
Non-fiction
Melinda Camber Porter in Conversation with Eugenio Montale (Blake Press, 2015) Melinda Camber Porter in Conversation with Wim Wenders (Blake Press, 2015) Melinda Camber Porter in Conversation with Roy Lichtenstein (Blake Press, 2015) Melinda Camber Porter in Conversation with Octavio Paz (Blake Press, 2016) Melinda Camber Porter in Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates (Blake Press, 2017) My Polaroid Selfies, 1981 (Blake Press, 2017) Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture (Blake Press, 2017) Art of Love: Love Poems and Paintings (Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc., 1993) The Arousal of Nature (2004) Visions on Film: Portraits of Leading Contemporary Film Directors (2009) William Blake Illuminates the Works of Melinda Camber Porter (2006)
Novels
Frank – foreword by Saul Bellow
Boat Child: A Comedy (pub. 1994) Badlands (Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc., 1996) Book of the Month Club selection Imogen Floating Boundary – Book One: Hong Kong Floating Boundary – Book Two: China Arrives Floating Boundary – Book Three: Freedom or Tyranny Child of the Western World
Poetry
St Julian. With a drawing by Rigby Graham (Cog Press, 1973)
Stage plays
Journey to Benares’ A Rock Opera (perf. Asia Society Museum, NY) Night Angel (perf. Lincoln Center's Clark Theater) Boat Child (perf. Denver Center for the Performing Arts)
Documentary films
Vision on Film: Michael Apted (shorts I and II) Luminous Journey (short) The Art of Love: Paintings and Writings of Melinda Camber Porter (public television program 1994–1998) Sacred Journey (television – Vision Television and APTN Canada 2001–2004) Joyce Beroneo on Photography The Kitchen (Paris in the 1970s)