Nardi Simpson
{{Short description|Indigenous Australian writer and musician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Nardi Simpson
| image =
| caption =
| image_size =
| pseudonym =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1975
| birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Novelist and musician
| period =
| subject =
| movement =
| influences =
| influenced =
| signature =
| website =
| awards = ALS Gold Medal 2021
}}
Nardi Simpson (born 1975) is a Yuwaalaraay musician and writer in Australia. She is a founding member of the Indigenous folk group Stiff Gins. Her debut novel, Song of the Crocodile, was published in 2020.
Early life and education
Nardi Simpson was born in Sydney in 1975.{{Cite book|last=Harris|first=Amanda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQ_0DwAAQBAJ|title=Representing Australian Aboriginal Music and Dance 1930-1970|date=2020-09-03|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=978-1-5013-6294-1|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Ringland|first=Jenny|date=2021-11-05|title=The rise of Nardi Simpson|url=https://greenandsimple.co/2021/11/nardi-simpson|access-date=2022-01-11|website=green+simple|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2020-02-25|title=Women of Note, Vol. 2: A Century of Australian Composers|url=https://www.abcmusic.com.au/discography/women-note-vol-2-century-australian-composers|access-date=2022-01-11|website=ABC Music|language=en}} Her family is Yuwaalaraay Aboriginal Australian from New South Wales, and she spent a significant portion of her childhood visiting the area.{{Cite book|last=Harris|first=Amanda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQ_0DwAAQBAJ|title=Representing Australian Aboriginal Music and Dance 1930-1970|date=2020-09-03|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=978-1-5013-6294-1|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Knowles|first=Rachael|date=2021-06-15|title=Into a deeper place|url=https://nit.com.au/into-a-deeper-place/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=National Indigenous Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2021-07-21|title=Simpson wins 2021 ALS Gold Medal for 'Song of the Crocodile'|url=https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2021/07/21/190069/simpson-wins-2021-als-gold-medal-for-song-of-the-crocodile/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=Books+Publishing|language=en-AU}}
After attending Eora College,{{Cite web|last=Syke|first=Lloyd Bradford (Brad)|date=2010-08-16|title=Stiff Gins|url=https://www.australianstage.com.au/201008163775/reviews/sydney/stiff-gins.html|access-date=2022-01-11|website=Australian Stage}} she graduated from the University of Sydney with a bachelor's degree in Aboriginal studies.{{Cite web|date=April 2018|title=About Biliirr|url=https://kluge-ruhe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Culture-Couture-program.pdf|access-date=2022-01-11|website=Culture Couture}}
Music
Simpson has been a musician for over two decades.{{Cite web|last=Steger|first=Jason|date=2021-07-30|title=The Age Book of the Year: It's coming back and here's the shortlist|url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/books/the-age-book-of-the-year-it-s-coming-back-and-here-s-the-shortlist-20210723-p58caq.html|access-date=2022-01-11|website=The Age|language=en}} She is a founding member of the Indigenous folk group Stiff Gins, which she co-founded in 1999.{{Cite web|last=Sloan|first=Jodie|date=2020-09-28|title=Book Review: Dive into Nardi Simpson's mesmerising debut Song of the Crocodile|url=https://www.theaureview.com/books/reviews-books/book-review-dive-into-nardi-simpsons-mesmerising-debut-song-of-the-crocodile/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=The AU Review|language=en-AU}}{{Cite news|last=McNab|first=Heather|date=2016-10-28|title=Tunes bring tales to life|work=Daily Telegraph|url=https://dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-sydney/sacred-aboriginal-artefacts-given-voice-in-experimental-art-project-by-the-stiff-gins/news-story/6e2e4b3d07995dd30d3907424e807d6f|access-date=2022-01-11}} The group has produced several recordings, starting with their debut EP Soh Fa in 1999 and their debut album Origins in 2001.{{Cite book|last1=Dunbar-Hall|first1=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pid1LHuz1sC|title=Deadly Sounds, Deadly Places: Contemporary Aboriginal Music in Australia|last2=Gibson|first2=Chris|date=2004|publisher=UNSW Press|isbn=978-0-86840-622-0|language=en}} She is also the founder of the Sydney-based Barayagal Choir.{{Cite web|last=Maddox|first=John Shand, George Palathingal, Nick Galvin, John McDonald, Garry|date=2021-12-03|title=Plenty to savour as Sydney's arts-filled summer beckons|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/plenty-to-savour-as-sydney-s-arts-filled-summer-beckons-20211126-p59cmh.html|access-date=2022-01-11|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}
In addition to performing, she is also a composer, described by ABC as "one of the most exciting Australian composers of her generation."{{Cite web|last=Buzacott|first=Martin|date=2021-11-12|title=Australia's local heroes of classical music|url=https://www.abc.net.au/classic/read-and-watch/music-reads/australian-local-heroes-of-classical-music/13626490|access-date=2022-01-11|website=ABC Classic|language=en}} She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in composition from the Australian National University.{{Cite web|title=Nardi Simpson|url=http://www.swf.org.au/writers/nardi-simpson/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=Sydney Writers' Festival|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Ho|first=Evana|title=Striking a new chord|url=https://reporter.anu.edu.au/striking-new-chord|access-date=2022-01-11|website=ANU Reporter|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Hanusiak|first=Xenia|date=2021-04-17|title=Move over Beethoven: women of note join Canberra International Music Festival line-up|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7209458/move-over-beethoven-women-of-note/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=The Canberra Times|language=en-AU}} In 2019 she began participating in the Ngarra Burria First Nations Composers Initiative.{{Cite book|last=Harris|first=Amanda|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lQ_0DwAAQBAJ|title=Representing Australian Aboriginal Music and Dance 1930-1970|date=2020-09-03|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA|isbn=978-1-5013-6294-1|language=en}}
Writing
In 2018, Simpson won the State Library of Queensland's black&write! Writing Fellowship for her debut novel, Song of the Crocodile, which was published in 2020 by Hachette Publishing.{{Cite news |last=Bremer |first=Rudi |date=2021-12-10 |title=The project that's enabled Indigenous stories to be written and edited by Indigenous people |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-11/black-and-write-indigenous-author-nardi-simpson/100687344 |access-date=2023-08-24}}{{Cite web|last=Steger|first=Jason|date=2021-07-30|title=The Age Book of the Year: It's coming back and here's the shortlist|url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/books/the-age-book-of-the-year-it-s-coming-back-and-here-s-the-shortlist-20210723-p58caq.html|access-date=2022-01-11|website=The Age|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Sloan|first=Jodie|date=2020-09-28|title=Book Review: Dive into Nardi Simpson's mesmerising debut Song of the Crocodile|url=https://www.theaureview.com/books/reviews-books/book-review-dive-into-nardi-simpsons-mesmerising-debut-song-of-the-crocodile/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=The AU Review|language=en-AU}} Song of the Crocodile tells the story of three generations of women in the same family navigating tensions between Indigenous and settler families as their town grows, incorporating musical elements and the Yuwaalaraay language.{{Cite web|last=Steger|first=Jason|date=2021-07-30|title=The Age Book of the Year: It's coming back and here's the shortlist|url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/books/the-age-book-of-the-year-it-s-coming-back-and-here-s-the-shortlist-20210723-p58caq.html|access-date=2022-01-11|website=The Age|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Winch|first=Tara June|date=2021-07-09|title=An essential First Nations reading list|url=https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/an-essential-indigenous-australian-reading-list/image-gallery/0e14acb0c01a70e648362bd6f8140d7f|access-date=2022-01-11|website=Vogue Australia|language=en}} Simpson has also written journal articles, including for the Griffith Review.{{Cite journal |last=Simpson |first=Nardi |title=Gifts across space and time: Journeying together in speak/listen trade |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.675706088333817 |journal=Griffith Review |issue=71 |pages=275–283 }}
The novel received significant recognition, including being longlisted for the Stella Prize and Miles Franklin Award, and shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing and The Age
Her second novel, The Belburd, was published in 2024.{{Cite news |last=Jefferson |first=Dee |date=2024-09-26 |title=‘I didn’t want to use them’: author Nardi Simpson on knowing when a story isn’t yours to tell |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/sep/26/the-belburd-nardi-simpson-book-interview |access-date=2024-10-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} It brings together the story of an Indigenous poet in present-day Sydney and the stories of late-18th-century figures in the same area.
Simpson wrote the introduction to Ruby Langford Ginibi's best-selling and seminal work of Indigenous memoir, Don't Take Your Love to Town, which was reprinted in 2023 as part of the University of Queensland Press' First Nations Classics series. The series showcases several Unaipon Award winners, and is inspired by the richness and cultural importance of First Nations Australians writing.{{Cite book |last=Ginibi |first=Ruby Langford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvS3EAAAQBAJ |title=Don't Take Your Love to Town |date=2023-05-30 |publisher=Univ. of Queensland Press |isbn=978-0-7022-6792-5 |language=en}}
Awards
| class="wikitable"
!Year !Work !Award !Category !Result !Ref |
| rowspan="11" |2021
| rowspan="12" |Song of the Crocodile |The Age Book of the Year Awards |Fiction |{{Sho}} | |
|---|
| ALS Gold Medal
|— |{{Won}} |
| Indie Book Awards
|Debut Fiction |{{Sho}} |
| Miles Franklin Award
|— |{{Nom|Longlisted}} |
| MUD Literary Prize
|— |{{Sho}} |
| NSW Premier's Literary Awards
|UTS Glenda Adams Award |{{Sho}} |
| Queensland Literary Awards
|Fiction Book Award |{{Won}} |
| Readings Prize
|New Australian Fiction |{{Sho}} |
| Stella Prize
|— |{{Nom|Longlisted}} |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
|{{Sho}} |
| Voss Literary Prize
|— |{{Sho}} |
| 2022
|International Dublin Literary Award|| — || {{Nom|Longlisted}} |
Bibliography
= Novels =
- {{cite book |first=Nardi |last=Simpson |author-mask=2 |title=Song of the Crocodile |year=2020 |edition=paperback 1st |publisher=Hachette Australia |isbn=9780733643743}}
- {{cite book |first=Nardi |last=Simpson |author-mask=2 |title=The Belburd |year=2024 |edition=paperback |publisher=Hachette |isbn=9780733647963}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- [https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/awaye/another-australia-with-nardi-simpson/13921892 Interview with ABC Radio Australia]
- [https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/entertainment/article/my-sydney-yuwaalaraay-storyteller-nardi-simpson-food-makes-her-heart-sing-and-essential-song-city Nardi Simpson featured in "My Sydney"]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Nardi}}
Category:Australian women writers
Category:Australian women musicians
Category:Australian women composers
Category:Indigenous Australian musicians
Category:Indigenous Australian writers