PORTER, PETER (NEVILL FREDERICK)

born Feb. 16, 1929, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Australian-born British poet whose works are characterized by a formal style and rueful, epigrammatic wit. Educated in Australia, Porter worked as a news reporter, clerk, and bookshop assistant and in the advertising business before settling in London in 1951. His first volumes of poetry, published in the 1960s, reflect a satirical approach to modern society and to his own experiences. Porter's works include Once Bitten, Twice Bitten (1961), Poems Ancient & Modern (1964), A Porter Folio (1969), The Last of England (1970), Preaching to the Converted (1972), A Share of the Market (1973), Living in a Calm Country (1975), The Cost of Seriousness (1978), and English Subtitles (1981).