Cockatoos in the Mangroves

VANESSA LEE-AHMAT, an Indigenous Australian, lives on the land of the Gadigal people in Sydney, Australia. She is a poet, writer, social epidemiologist, suicide prevention advocate and a strong believer in social equality. In 2016, Vanessa became the first Indigenous female to graduate with a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at Griffith University, Queensland. She was the first Indigenous National vice-president for the Public Health Association of Australia, 2011 to 2015, where she advocated for more resources to be allocated towards preventative health. In 2017, Vanessa became the first independent director for Suicide Prevention Australia. Dr Lee-AhMat began writing poetry following the graduation of her PhD, and she offers no apology for her confessional style of poetry. In 2016, Vanessa was invited to present her poetry at the Sydney Writers Festival with other Indigenous Australian poets. Her poem “Warrior Cloak” (a piece about betrayal and resilience) was choregraphed into a seven-minute contemporary Aboriginal dance by choreographer Monica Stevens and performed at Carriage Works in Sydney, Australia. She was invited to contribute poems, in 2017, to the Australian Poetry Journal for their Australian Poetry Anthology series, SKIN; a series of high-level poems interpreting skin. Vanessa’s poem as “Black Women Do” was published as part of a book chapter on women’s resilience. Her poem “My Master”, a poem of courage and strength, has been played on National Indigenous radio and television; she was also invited to perform the poem as part of an interview on National ABC program `All in the Mind’- mental health and suicide prevention. In 2019, Vanessa was invited to read her short story “Compassion” at the opening of Aging Fiercely platform Story Room in preparation for a story telling podcast. She continues to perform and publish her confessional poetry across various media platforms.