Porter, Bern, 1911-2004
Variant namesBernard Harden Porter was born on Feb. 14, 1911 in Porter Settlement, ME; Sc. B, Colby College, 1932; Sc. M, Brown Univ., 1933; special courses at Da Vinci School (1937), Convair School (1957), Univ. of Maine (1960), and Federal School (1963); in 1929 founded Bern Porter (publishing company) in Belfast, ME; became physicist for Acheson Colloids Corp. (1935-40) and for the Manhattan District Engineers (1940-45); became consulting physicist in 1945; director of Contemporary Gallery, West Coast Design Guild, and Fund for Contemporary Expression, 1947-50; Republican candidate for governor of ME, 1969; became author, poet, editor, illustrator, and publisher; founding fellow, International Poetry Society; published works include Colloidal graphite : its properties and applications (1939), Map of physics (1939), Henry Miller : a bibliography (compiler, 1943), Scandinavian summer (1961), Wernher Von Braun : a bibliography and selected papers (editor, 1966), Reminiscences, 1927-1970 (1970), American strange (1979), and Isla Vista (1981).
From the description of Papers, 1935-1983. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 40931640
Physicist and methodology specialist.
From the description of Bern Porter Collection of Contemporary Letters, 1935-ca. 1989. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 83800445
American physicist, poet, publisher, editor of artists' books, illustrator and mail artist.
From the description of Bern Porter mail art collection, 1953-1992 (bulk 1978-1992). (Getty Research Institute). WorldCat record id: 84098703
Bernard Harden Porter is a poet, artist, nuclear physicist, publisher, editor of artists' books and cultural journals.
From the description of Papers, 1945-1972. (Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)). WorldCat record id: 122516906
Biography
Bernard Harden Porter was born on February 14, 1911 in Porter Settlement, Maine; Sc.B, Colby College, 1932; Sc.M, Brown University, 1933; special courses at Da Vinci School (1937), Convair School (1957), University of Maine (1960), and Federal School (1963); in 1929 founded Bern Porter (publishing company) in Belfast, Maine; became physicist for Acheson Colloids Corporation (1935-40) and for the Manhattan District Engineers (1940-45); became consulting physicist in 1945; director of Contemporary Gallery, West Coast Design Guild, and Fund for Contemporary Expression, 1947-50; Republican candidate for governor of Maine, 1969; became author, poet, editor, illustrator, and publisher; founding fellow, International Poetry Society; published works include Colloidal Graphite: its Properties and Applications (1939), Map of Physics (1939), Henry Miller: a Bibliography (compiler, 1943), Scandinavian Summer (1961), Wernher Von Braun: a Bibliography and Selected Papers (editor, 1966), Reminiscences, 1927-1970 (1970), American Strange (1979), and Isla Vista (1981).
From the guide to the Bern Porter Papers, 1935-1983, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)
Biographical/Historical Note
Bern Porter was born Bernard Harden Porter on February 14, 1911 in Porter Settlement, Maine. Schooled in physics, Porter contributed to the Manhattan Project until 1945 when he quit shortly after he published Henry Miller's Murder the Murderer, an anti-war tract. Disillusioned by the misapplication of scientific potential, Porter began to express himself through a fusion of science and art. In 1959, he established the Institute for Advanced Thinking to encourage freelance physicists to develop ideas that combine physics and the humanities.
Porter is one of the founders of the mail art network, sending visual poetry, letters, one-of-a-kind postcards and altered images to international correspondents as early as the 1950s. He has participated in many mail art exhibitions and also maintains an extensive literary career. To date he has written over 80 books and published over 400.
From the guide to the Bern Porter mail art collection, 1953-1992, 1978-1992, (Getty Research Institute)
Role | Title | Holding Repository |
---|
Filters:
Relation | Name | |
---|---|---|
associatedWith | Altemus, Reed. | person |
associatedWith | Alternative Press (Detroit, Michigan) | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Baroni, Vittore | person |
associatedWith | Baroni, Vittore. | person |
associatedWith | Bloch, Mark | person |
associatedWith | Bloch, Mark. | person |
associatedWith | Brown, Jean, 1911- | person |
associatedWith | Brown University. Library (Providence, Rhode Island). | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Bryan, Tom. | person |
associatedWith | Cantsin, Monty | person |
associatedWith | Cantsin, Monty. | person |
associatedWith | Cole, David | person |
associatedWith | Cole, David, 1939- | person |
associatedWith | Craigie, Peter M. | person |
associatedWith | Craigie, Peter M. | person |
associatedWith | Crozier, Robin. | person |
associatedWith | Finlay, Eric | person |
associatedWith | Finlay, Eric. | person |
associatedWith | Held, John, 1947- | person |
associatedWith | Higgins, Dick, 1938-1998. | person |
correspondedWith | Kaplan, Philip, 1903-1990. | person |
associatedWith | Miller, Henry, 1891-1980. | person |
correspondedWith | New Directions Publishing Corp. | corporateBody |
associatedWith | Olbrich, Jürgen O. | person |
associatedWith | Olbrich, Jürgen O., 1955- | person |
associatedWith | Patchen, Kenneth, 1911-1972 | person |
associatedWith | Pittore, Carlo. | person |
associatedWith | Pyros, John. | person |
associatedWith | Random, Steve | person |
associatedWith | Random, Steve. | person |
associatedWith | Roth, Dieter, 1930-1998. | person |
associatedWith | Saunders, Robert, 1940- | person |
associatedWith | Schevill, James Erwin, 1920- | person |
associatedWith | Spiegelman, Lon | person |
associatedWith | Spiegelman, Lon. | person |
associatedWith | VooDoo, Michael | person |
associatedWith | VooDoo, Michael. | person |
associatedWith | Welch, Chuck | person |
associatedWith | Welch, Chuck, 1948- | person |
associatedWith | Winkler, Chris | person |
associatedWith | Winkler, Chris. | person |
associatedWith | Yager, Jay | person |
associatedWith | Yager, Jay. | person |
Place Name | Admin Code | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
United States |
Subject |
---|
Publishers and publishing |
Publishers and publishing |
Authors, American |
Poets, American |
Art and science |
Artists' books |
Copy art |
Literary movements |
Mail art |
Physicists |
Visual poetry |
Occupation |
---|
Authors, American |
Artists |
Physicists |
Physicists |
Poets, American - 20th century |
Activity |
---|
Person
Birth 1911
Death 2004-06-07
English