Vicki Viidikas (25 September 1948 - 27 November 1998) was a twentieth-century Australian poet and prose writer.
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.[1] 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”.[2] The ‘counter culture’ and her travels in Asia, especially India, are recurrent subjects in her poetry.
| Vicki Viidikas | |
| Birth Date: | 25 September 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Sydney, Australia |
| Death Date: | 27 November 1998 |
| Death Place: | Sydney Australia |
| Occupation: | Poet |
| Nationality: | Australian |
Viidikas was born and grew up in Sydney, Australia. Her mother, Betty Kunig, was Anglo-Australian, her father Estonian.[3] [4] She had a sister, Ingrid Lisners, who has been involved with publishing the collection New and Rediscovered in tribute to her sister.[5] Viidikas attended schools in Queensland and Sydney, until the age of 15 when she left education and her home.[6]
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.[7]
Alternative literary magazines began publishing Viidikas' poetry and fiction in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[8] Her writing discussed the drug and sexual revolution taking place.[9] She joined the Balmain New South Wales poetry 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.
Poetry
Short stories
Collected editions
Viidikas' novel Kali and the Dung Beetle has not been published.[10]
In 1975, Stephen Wallace directed a short film, Break Up, from the short story ‘Getting it all Together’ published in Wrappings.[11]
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.[12]