Lionel George Fogarty (Barambah, 1958) grew up in an area now known as Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve, South Queensland. In 2012, he won the Scanlon Award, a prize for the best collection of poetry written by an ‘indigenous poet’. Fogarty became interested in poetry through his contact with the Murri people, the original inhabitants of Australia. He has been championing the interests – property rights, healthcare, etc. – of Aboriginal peoples worldwide since the ‘70s. When his brother passed away while in political incarceration, this experience, too, started featuring in his poetry. Fogarty writes in Aboriginal English and does so in a powerful, convincing and innovative way, challenging people to leave their comfort zones, to let go off cultural presumptions and prejudices, and to pursue a greater mutual understanding.

full biography and poems ►