Kerry Reed-Gilbert (24 October 1956 – 13 July 2019) was an Australian poet, author, collector, editor, educator, a champion of Indigenous writers and an Aboriginal rights activist. She was a Wiradjuri woman.

Early life

Born on 24 October 1956 in central New South Wales,[1] Reed-Gilbert was orphaned at three months old when her father Kevin Gilbert murdered her mother Gomah Gilbert (née Scott). Reed-Gilbert was raised by her father's sister, whom Reed-Gilbert called "Mummy", and she became the youngest of eight children.

Reed-Gilbert was a Wiradjuri woman[1] and her childhood memoirs are published in The Cherry Picker's Daughter: A childhood memoir.[2][3]

Career

Reed-Gilbert wrote poetry and prose and was actively involved in writers groups and publishing the work of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander[4] and Māori writers.[5]

She was the inaugural Chairperson of the First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN).[1][6] She was also a member of the Aboriginal Studies Press Advisory Committee.[1]

Awards

  • 2006: ‘Outstanding Achievement in Poetry’ and ‘Poet of Merit’ Award from the International Society of Poets.[6][1]

Other activities

Reed-Gilbert collected Aboriginalia, a variety of prints, figurines, plates, ashtrays, badges, and velvet paintings of Aboriginal people or featuring Aboriginal motifs.[7] In 2016 this collection was acquired by AIATSIS.[8]

She presented an episode of the 2013 documentary television series Desperate Measures, about her father, activist and writer Kevin Gilbert.[9]

Death and legacy

Reed-Gilbert died on 13 July 2019 in Canberra.[1] She was survived by her two daughters, Lesa and Melanie, her grandchildren Jirrima, Yarran, Tenisha, Kaylarnie and Yullara and her great-grandchildren.[6][10]

In 2020 the Kuracca Prize for Australian Literature was created by Overland literary journal in memory of Reed-Gilbert.[11][12]

Works

Reed-Gilbert's poetry was translated into Dutch, French, Bengali and Korean.[1][6][13] Reed-Gilbert edited a number of anthologies of poetry and prose.[14]

  • Reed-Gilbert, Kerry (1996), Black woman, black life, Wakefield Press, ISBN 978-1-86254-392-8
  • Reed-Gilbert, Kerry, ed. (November 2017), A pocketful of leadership in First Nations Australia communities (Third ed.), KLaS (published 2018), ISBN 978-0-9925598-1-6
  • Bedford, Michelle; Delian, Lyndy; Dries, Jenny; Faulkner, Samantha; Fuller, Lisa; Graham, Joyce; Leane, Jeanine; Martiniello, Jennifer A. (Jennifer Avriel), 1949–; Miller, Elizabeth; Reed-Gilbert, Kerry; Seiver, Beverley; Weston, Richard, b. 1938; Us Mob Writing (2013), By close of business, Us Mob Writing, ISBN 978-0-9923136-0-9{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  • Blank, Anton; Reed-Gilbert, Kerry, eds. (2013), Ora nui : special edition : a collection of Maori and Aboriginal literature (Special ed.), Anton Blank, ISBN 978-0-473-26137-5
  • Reed-Gilbert, Kerry (2002), Talkin about country, Kuracca Communications, ISBN 978-0-9580588-0-3
  • Reed-Gilbert, Kerry (2019), Cherry picker's daughter : a childhood memoir, WILD DINGO PRESS, ISBN 978-1-925893-09-0[3]
  • Reed-Gilbert, Kerry (2018), 'The Little Town on the Railway Track', Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia, Black Inc, ISBN 9781863959810

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Kerry Reed-Gilbert". Austlit. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "The Cherry Picker's Daughter". www.newsouthbooks.com.au. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 "The Cherry Picker's Daughter (Melissa Lucashenko)". Verity La. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  4. ↑ Faulkner, Samantha; Reed-Gilbert, Kerry, eds. (2018), Pamle : Torres Strait Islanders in Canberra, Samantha Faulkner, ISBN 978-0-9925598-4-7
  5. ↑ "Us Mob: Launch of Too Deadly and ACT Leadership Book". ACT Writers Centre. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Working with Words: Kerry Reed-Gilbert". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  7. ↑ "A response to 'Aboriginalia and the politics of Aboriginal kitsch'". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  8. ↑ "Reading Room Display: The Kerry Reed-Gilbert collection". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "Kevin Gilbert (2013) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  10. ↑ "VERITY LA POETRY PODCAST Episode 12: Aunty Kerry Reed-Gilbert". Verity La. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  11. ↑ "Kuracca Prize for Australian Literature | Overland literary journal". Overland Literary Journal. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "Overland creates new prize in honour of Reed-Gilbert". Books+Publishing. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  13. ↑ Reed-Gilbert, Kerry (2014), Kerry Reed-Gilbert interviewed by Mary Hutchison in the Centenary of Canberra oral history project, Hutchison, Mary (Interviewer), retrieved 20 January 2023
  14. ↑ "States of Poetry 2017 – ACT – About Kerry Reed-Gilbert". Australian Book Review. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
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