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, whom Reed-Gilbert called "Mummy", and she became the youngest of eight children.^{[citation needed]}

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 co-founder and 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] Reed-Gilbert was instrumental in strengthening the governance of Us Mob Writing group to where she was a member and the chairperson.

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.^[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