Bern Porter

Bern Porter died on this day 16 years ago, in Belfast, Maine. As an artist, he was best known for his "founds",  from his many bookworks including Found Poems (published by the Something Else Press), The Wastemaker, The Book of Do's, Dieresis, Here Comes Everybody's Don't Book, and Sweet End. As a publisher he is known for publishing (and often designing) important works by Kenneth Patchen and Henry Miller. As a scientist, he is known for his contributions to the development of the cathode ray tube, and for his work on the Manhattan Project. His involvement focused on the separation of enriched uranium needed to construct atomic bombs. After bombs were deployed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Porter became a lifelong pacifist.