Kerry Reed-Gilbert

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 who Reed-Gilbert called 'Mummy', and she became the youngest of eight children.

Reed-Gilbert is survived by her two daughters, Lesa and Melanie, her grandchildren Jirrima, Yarran, Tenisha, Kaylarnie and Yullara and her great-grandchildren.[2][3] Reed-Gilbert was a Wiradjuri woman[1] and her childhood memoirs are published in The Cherry Picker's Daughter: A childhood memoir.[4][5]

Career

Reed-Gilbert wrote poetry and prose and was actively involved in writers groups and publishing the work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander[6] and Maori writers.[7] Reed-Gilbert was the inaugural Chairperson of the First Nations Australians Writers Network (FNAWN).[1][2] She was also a member of the Aboriginal Studies Press Advisory Committee.[1]

Works

Reed-Gilbert's poetry was translated into Dutch, French, Bengali and Korean.[1][2][8] Reed-Gilbert edited a number of anthologies of poetry and prose.[9]

  • Reed-Gilbert, Kerry (1996), Black woman, black life, Wakefield Press, ISBN 978-1-86254-392-8
  • Reed-Gilbert, Kerry, (editor.); KLaS, (issuing body.) (2018), A pocketful of leadership in First Nations Australia communities (Third ed.), KLaS, ISBN 978-0-9925598-1-6CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • 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 978-0-9923136-0-9CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Blank, Anton, (editor.); Reed-Gilbert, Kerry, (editor.) (2013), Ora nui : special edition : a collection of Maori and Aboriginal literature (Special ed.), Anton Blank, ISBN 978-0-473-26137-5CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • 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[5]

Collecting

Reed-Gilbert collected Aboriginalia, a variety of prints, figurines, plates, ashtrays, badges, and velvet paintings of Aboriginal people or featuring Aboriginal motifs.[10] In 2016 this collection was acquired by AIATSIS.[11]

Awards

2003: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board fellowship for poetry and writing at Omi International Arts Center in New York.[1]

2006: ‘Outstanding Achievement in Poetry’ and ‘Poet of Merit’ Award from the International Society of Poets.[2][1]

Memorial

In 2020 the Kuracca Prize for Australian Literature was created by Overland literary journal in memory of Reed-Gilbert.[12][13]

References
  1. "Kerry Reed-Gilbert". Austlit. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. "Working with Words: Kerry Reed-Gilbert". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  3. "VERITY LA POETRY PODCAST Episode 12: Aunty Kerry Reed-Gilbert". Verity La. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  4. "The Cherry Picker's Daughter". www.newsouthbooks.com.au. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  5. "The Cherry Picker's Daughter (Melissa Lucashenko)". Verity La. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  6. Faulkner, Samantha, (editor.); Reed-Gilbert, Kerry, (editor.) (2018), Pamle : Torres Strait Islanders in Canberra, Samantha Faulkner, ISBN 978-0-9925598-4-7CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  7. "Us Mob: Launch of Too Deadly and ACT Leadership Book". ACT Writers Centre. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  8. Reed-Gilbert, Kerry; Hutchison, Mary. (Interviewer); National Library of Australia; Australian Capital Territory. Legislative Assembly (2014), Kerry Reed-Gilbert interviewed by Mary Hutchison in the Centenary of Canberra oral history project, retrieved 16 July 2019
  9. "States of Poetry 2017 – ACT – About Kerry Reed-Gilbert". Australian Book Review. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  10. "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.
  11. "Reading Room Display: The Kerry Reed-Gilbert collection". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  12. "Kuracca Prize for Australian Literature | Overland literary journal". Overland Literary Journal. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  13. "Overland creates new prize in honour of Reed-Gilbert". Books+Publishing. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
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