Yvette Holt facts for kids
Yvette Henry Holt is an amazing Australian writer, poet, and editor. She has won many awards for her work. Yvette comes from the Bidjara, Yiman, and Wakaman nations in Queensland, Australia. She is the youngest child of a well-known Elder named Albert Holt.
Yvette became famous for her poetry when her first book, Anonymous Premonition, won an award in 2008. For many years, from 2009 to 2021, Yvette lived and worked in Central Australia. There, she spent time with the Central and Western Arrernte peoples near Hermannsburg and Alice Springs.
Quick facts for kids
Yvette Holt
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| Born | 31 January, 1971 Brisbane, Queensland Australia |
| Pen name | Yvette Henry Holt |
| Occupation | Executive Chairperson First Nations Australia Writers Network, Poet, Editor, National Director of First Nations Australian Cultural Protocols — AP Australian Poetry |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of Technology Sydney |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Albert Holt (father) Lillian Holt (cousin) |
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Yvette Holt was born in 1971 in Brisbane, Queensland. Her family lived in a place called Inala East since 1968. Her family has helped a lot in Queensland. They worked in schools, with the police, and on important community projects.
Yvette went to Serviceton Primary State School, which is now called Durack State School. She was very good at singing, playing softball, and writing when she was young.
Later, Yvette went to the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). In 2007, she earned a special degree. It was in Adult Education and Community Management.
Her Poetry Work
In 2008, Yvette's first book of poems was published. It was called Anonymous Premonition. She had actually won the David Unaipon Award for this book back in 2005, even before it was published! This award is for new Indigenous Australian authors.
Since then, her poems have been printed in many different magazines and books. You can find her short stories and essays online too. Her poetry is so popular that it has been translated into many languages. These include Mandarin, French, Spanish, Indonesian, Italian, and Dutch.
Other Important Work
From 2006 to 2009, Yvette did research on Indigenous Australian literature. This was for a special project called Black Words. It helps people learn about Australian literature.
Yvette cares a lot about social justice for Indigenous people. She is especially interested in helping First Nations women. Yvette travels around Australia and the world to talk about Black literature. She also speaks about women of colour in poetry and about publishing books.
Yvette also helps young people and women with their creative writing. She teaches them about Indigenous Australian literature.
In 2009, Yvette moved to Central Australia. For many years, she worked in eighteen different Aboriginal communities. She helped with things like health, money skills, and finding jobs. She also taught creative writing at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education in Alice Springs.
Current Roles
Today, Yvette Holt has some very important jobs. Since 2018, she has been the boss of the First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN). This group helps First Nations writers.
She is also a director for Australian Poetry (AP) since 2019. This is a big group for poetry in Australia. Yvette makes sure that First Nations cultural rules are followed in poetry.
Yvette helps to publish books by First Nations Australian writers, poets, and storytellers. She also leads a global network for the FNAWN.
She has also helped to edit some books. She was a co-editor for the 2019 AP Anthology Volume 7. She also co-edited a book of poems called Borderless: A transnational anthology of feminist poetry in 2021.
In recent years, Yvette has worked hard for Australia to have a national Poet Laureate. This would be a special poet who represents the country.
Awards and Recognition
Yvette Holt has won many awards for her amazing work:
- 2003: She received the UTS Human Rights Award. This was for her great work in helping Indigenous Australians.
- 2005: She won the David Unaipon Award for her unpublished book, Anonymous Premonition.
- After Anonymous Premonition was published, it won more awards:
- 2008: The Scanlon Prize for Indigenous Poetry
- 2008: The Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing
- 2010: The Kate Challis RAKA Award
- 2018: Her poem, "Mother(s) Native Tongue", was highly praised in the Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize.
- 2019: She received a Varuna Fellowship for her poetry book idea, "Hands of My Mother".
- 2019: She also received the Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund.
- 2019: Yvette was given one of three special Norma Redpath Studio residencies. This was part of the Hot Desk Fellowships at the Wheeler Centre.
