Cirrus@Austlit

'Hi everyone. My name’s Russell Smith and I’m a lecturer in Modern Literature at ANU. I got to know Gabrielle in 2019 when she came to ANU as a recipient of a six-month H.C. Coombs Creative Fellowship. I remember quite clearly the first time I met her. My colleague Lucy Neave would normally be the person who welcomes and hosts Creative Fellows, but she was away on leave and asked me if I would step in. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive because, without knowing much about Gabrielle—and with all due respect to the writers (like myself) present in the room—I was a bit worried she might be ‘high maintenance’. I needn’t have worried, of course: we hit it off immediately. I had arranged to meet her in Mocan and Green Grout, a quirky little café tucked away in a hard-to-find nook at the edge of the University precinct; it’s a bit of a well-kept Canberra secret, or so I thought. When I arrived Gabrielle was already there, set up with her notebook and a coffee and immediately said ‘Great choice! This is one of my favourite places in Canberra!’' (Introduction)