Spoken Medicine

Gabrielle Journey Jones was born on Gadigal land, Sydney, and is from M¿ori and African-American blood-lines. Adopted into a loving family, she grew up in Canberra.Gabrielle has performed her poetry at local, national and international events in diverse venues including Sydney Opera House, Friend in Hand Glebe, Kent Street Café, Radio Skidrow, Django Bar, Women's Library, 'Woman Scream' Festival NSW Parliament House, Sydney Summer Spiritfest, 'Rebellious Words' Red Rattler 2016 and Pride Carnival Alice Springs. She is the winner of open mic and slam events including Word Salad 2017 launch; 'Say It Sing It' South Coast Writers Centre and Enough Said Poetry Slam Wollongong 2016; 'Bad Slam No Biscuit Poetry Slam' Canberra National Folk Festival 2016; and Caravan Slam Marrickville 2015. She was a finalist in the Australian Poetry Slam Sydney Slam 2016.
Gabrielle has been involved with many not-for-profit community organisations and government agencies across Australia during her twenty-year career as a social worker. Gabrielle is co-founder and CEO (Creativity Encouragement Officer) of Creative Womyn Down Under, a community initiative established in Sydney, 2006 to connect women and many forms of creative expression. Gabrielle combines creativity and social work ideals in her poetry workshops and drum circles.
The launch of Spoken Medicine in 2017 with Ginninderra Press completes a year of dynamic poetry community collaborations. Gabrielle joined the Red Room Company to deliver poetry workshops in schools in NSW. Red Room is committed to making poetry a meaningful part of everyday life. Gabrielle also became a member of the South Coast Writers Centre board of management. Gabrielle contributed to the inaugural Unspoken Words festival this year and will join the team of artistic directors in 2018.
Creativity as social, political and personal action is the cornerstone of Gabrielle's work as a performance poet. The words in this collection are best enjoyed read out loud.

'Gabe Journey Jones's poetry uniquely combines words and rhythm into recipes for healing, conversing and connecting with ourselves and one another. Her libretti are astute, set to bars, accents, BPM (beats per minute) and broken-up beats; they pulsate like the sanctuary of a mother's heartbeat and become Spoken Medicine.' - Friederike Krishnabhakdi-Vasilakis, Director, South Coast Writers Centre, writer and facilitator
'Passionate, percussive poetry written for performance that slams complacency and oppression with urgency and compassion. She's a priestess, exhilarating incantations heard accompanied by her drumming, divines the hidden and can heal a sick society. This is a magical potion.' - Jenni Nixon, poet, writer and mentor
'Gabrielle's collection of poetry is dazzling in its scope and intensity. The medicine gets to all the neglected parts of ourselves. Readers are in for a thought-provoking treat. It is wonderful that the world of spoken word is graced by a poet of such fierce integrity and poetic vitality.' - Wilfred C. Roach, poet, writer and performer
'I love nothing more than a fierce woman unafraid to speak loud truths, a counter voice to the dominant narratives which are not necessarily the real narratives. Gabe is all of that and more. This collection will certainly light a fire in your belly and spark something in your heart.' - Candy Royalle, artivist, writer, poet, storyteller and performance artist