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.
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]
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.
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]
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]
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]
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