Porgy

Porgy is the title character in DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel Porgy and the subsequent stage adaptation, the opera Porgy and Bess, composed by George Gershwin with a libretto by Heyward and Ira Gershwin. In Heyward's portrayal, Porgy is a crippled, impoverished beggar living on Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina, whose life and interactions within a poor Black community form the core of the work.

In the opera, Porgy remains the central male protagonist, a resourceful yet physically dependent beggar who seeks to protect Bess and navigate a world of crime, poverty, and social tension. The work blends elements of opera with jazz and American popular music, and it premiered in 1935 in New York City.

Porgy also refers to several species of marine fish in the family Sparidae, commonly known as porgies or sea breams. Notable species include the red porgy (Pagrus pagrus). Porgies occur in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and are of commercial and recreational importance in various regions. The term is used broadly across different regional fishery contexts to describe multiple related species.