Yeena Kirkbright

Yeena Kirkbright is a Wiradjuri woman living on Gadigal Land, who grew up on Country in Central West NSW. She uses poetry to document her personal journey, exploring gender, identity, place, cultural displacement, and decolonisation.

Articles by Yeena Kirkbright:

Published in Overland Issue 250 Autumn 2023 · Poetry

Camperdown grief junk

Yeena Kirkbright

In wombhole I meet feathered oracle, cross-legged and knowin’ / tells me I know nothin’ of time. “Listen ’ere Sis, don’t waste it / it’s slippin’ by while yous humans fuck everythin’ up” / Languorin’ now by springtime wound / swimmin’ where the light enters, warns me / when sun lays horizontal on graves dusk heavy / her coeval nebula will then be callin’ home.

Published in Overland Issue 247 Winter 2022 · Poetry

Poetry | Column irrelevant

Yeena Kirkbright

Words collected from ‘It’s so hip to be black’ by Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun, 15 April 2009. Meet now Wiradjuri Country. Auburn and charmingly freckled Country. Fair open air and Swallow Country. Take-me-as-I-am naked Country.

Published in Overland Issue 243 Winter 2021 ·

Kuracca Prize Runner-up | The grief tourist

Yeena Kirkbright

They called you nameless, but you are my many named where foreground, midground, background fold in on one another like black hole time, black time, bush time, way out back that way time

Published in Overland Issue 241 Summer 2020 ·

Mnemonic 2020

Yeena Kirkbright

1. Black Uncle takes us walking on Yuin Country. He shows us overgrown bush grape vine wrestling with sarsaparilla and gums. He tells us blackfullas would have burnt this back long ago, if they were allowed. He makes us tea in a billy, gets told by a ranger to put […]