Vicki Viidikas (25 September 1948 – 27 November 1998) was a twentieth-century

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

. Her first poem, ''At East Balmain,'' was published when she was 19 years old. Her poetry, fiction and drawings were published in literary magazines, as well as several collections of poetry. She wrote prolifically up until her untimely death at 50 years old, which was much mourned in Australia's poetry community. Viidikas was an iconic member of the collection of Sydney poets now known as the “generation of ‘68”. The ‘ counter culture’ and her travels in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, especially

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, are recurrent subjects in her poetry.

Early life

Viidikas was born and grew up in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia. Her mother, Betty Kunig, was Anglo-Australian, her father Estonian. She had a sister, Ingrid Lisners, who has been involved with publishing the collection ''New and Rediscovered'' in tribute to her sister. Viidikas attended schools in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and Sydney, until the age of 15 when she left education and her home. After leaving home, she held various jobs, including veterinary assistant, typist, bartender, apple packer, bookshop assistant, and research assistant, before starting to write at 16 without any formal training.

Career

Alternative literary magazines began publishing Viidikas' poetry and fiction in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her writing discussed the drug and sexual revolution taking place. She joined the Balmain

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

scene in the late 1960s, she encountered, among others, Ken Bolton, John Forbes, Martin Johnston and John Tranter. Michael Wilding's recollections of her can be found in his 'Wild and Woolley: a publishing memoir' (Giramondo, 2011) and 'Growing Wild' (Arcadia, 2016). Viidikas' work was influenced by her travels, including trips to Europe and the Middle East. She lived in India for over a decade in the 1970s and 1980s, with her experiences informing the collection ''India Ink'' published in 1984.

Works

Poetry *''Condition Red''. (

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, 1973) *''Knabel''. (Sydney: Wild & Woolley, 1978) *''India Ink: A collection of prose poems written in India''. (Sydney: Hale & Iremonger, 1984) Short stories *''Wrappings''. (Sydney : Wild & Woolley, 1974) Collected editions * ''New and Rediscovered.'' (

Transit Lounge Transit Lounge Publishing is an independent Australian literary small press founded in Melbourne in 2005. It publishes literary fiction, narrative and trade non-fiction. The books it publishes show the diversity of Australian culture. Distribu ...

, 2010) Viidikas' novel ''Kali and the Dung Beetle has not been published.

Influence

In 1975,

Stephen Wallace Stephen Henry Wallace A.M. (born 23 December 1943) is an Australian film and television director, screenwriter, producer, published author and acting coach. He has directed eight feature films, nine telemovies, numerous short films, worked on ...

directed a short film, ''Break Up,'' from the short story ‘Getting it all Together’ published in ''Wrappings''.

Awards

* Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships, Literature Board Grants, 1980 * Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships, Literature Board Fellowship, 1978 * Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships, Literature Board Fellowship, 1975 * Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships, Literature Board Grants, Young Writers' Grant, 197

Personal life

During the late 1960s, Viidikas was briefly married to artist Robert (Bob) Finlayson. Whilst living in King's Cross, Balmain, they both became involved with the Poetry Society of Australia.

References

External links

Foreword Viidikas: Reintroduction of the ’68 Poet
by Kerry Leves for ''Cordite Poetry Review'' (via Transit Lounge Publishing)

by Stephen Oliver
Fuori le mura: Seven Vicki Viidikas Poems
by Gig Ryan

at Australian Literature Resources (archived 2009)
Vicki's Voice - Remembering Vicki Viidikas
by

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viidikas, Vicki 1948 births 1998 deaths Writers from Sydney Australian people of Estonian descent Australian women poets 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian poets