Published in Overland Issue 243 Winter 2021 Prizes / Judges' report / Kuracca Prize Judges notes, 2021 Kuracca Prize Justin Clemens, Jeanine Leane and Elena Gomez ‘Great Grandmother Arrabrilya’ is a beautifully crafted story. Adam Brannigan weaves First Nations language and culture seamlessly as he takes his readers on a lyric journey into a world that rises above western compartmentalisations of time, and hierarchies of life to the deep spiritual heart of place. ‘Great Grandmother Arrabrilya’ defies linearity and the finality of death with its cyclic rhythms that rise and fall in ancient sequential motions that honour both Country and ancestors. This is a story that speaks strongly to the strength, hope, resilience, continuance of First Nations cultures and peoples. ‘The grief tourist’ is a remarkable poem that is arresting from its first line, and stays with you long after you’ve finished reading it. It is a poem that is defiant yet gentle, and palpable in texture and imagery. It is consistent in its lucid and assured voice. With courage and a commitment to radical speaking and action,’ Me, the (failed) revolutionary’ reflects upon the difficult intersections of the personal and the political. With a keen eye for revelatory details and unexpected insights, the prose sustains its lucidity and power throughout. Read the rest of Overland 243 If you enjoyed this piece, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four brilliant issues for a year Justin Clemens Justin Clemens teaches at the University of Melbourne. His most recent book is Limericks, Philosophical and Literary (Surpllus 2019). More by Justin Clemens, Jeanine Leane and Elena Gomez Jeanine Leane Jeanine Leane is a Wiradjuri writer, poet and academic from southwest New South Wales. Her first volume of poetry, Dark Secrets After Dreaming: A.D. 1887-1961 (2010, Presspress) won the Scanlon Prize for Indigenous Poetry, and her first novel, Purple Threads (UQP), won the David Unaipon Award for an unpublished Indigenous writer. She has a PhD in Australian literature and Aboriginal representation. Her poetry and short stories have been published in Hecate, The Journal for the Association European Studies of Australia, Australian Poetry Journal, Antipodes, Overland and the Australian Book Review. Jeanine has published widely in the area of Aboriginal literature, writing otherness and creative non-fiction and is the recipient of an Australia Research Council Grant on Aboriginal literature. She teaches Creative Writing and Aboriginal Literature at the University of Melbourne. Her second volume of poetry, Walk Back Over was released in 2018 by Cordite Press. More by Justin Clemens, Jeanine Leane and Elena Gomez Elena Gomez Elena Gomez is a poet and book editor living in Melbourne. She is the author of Body of Work (Cordite) and a number of chapbooks. More by Justin Clemens, Jeanine Leane and Elena Gomez Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays First published in Overland Issue 228 3 November 20227 November 2022 News Subscriberthon 2022 Friends and Sponsors Editorial team Thank you to our sponsors for their generous contributions to the 2022 Overland Subscriberthon! First published in Overland Issue 228 30 October 202230 October 2022 Activities Final results of the 2021 Nakata Brophy Prize Editorial team The Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, sponsored by Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and supporters, recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia.
