By Marcus Uhe
Michelle Anne Noonan’s new Casey Radio program is bringing her love of poetry to the airwaves in the South East.
Ms Noonan launched ‘Poets Corner’, a Sunday afternoon hour of poetry power, in January, platforming emerging creatives from around the area to showcase their skills, and discuss the art.
Ms Noonan has written poetry since her kinder days, having grown up immersing herself in Shakespeare and the language of Old English, despite the extra research required to find out what it was she was actually reading.
She ran a poetry group called ‘Poetry Pastures’ and has written multiple books, including ‘Silence Speaks Beauty’ and ‘Sensual Whispers’.
“I just adore writing poetry, going outdoors in the middle of the weekend, lying down a picnic rug and just writing,” Ms Noonan said of her relationship to the literacy.
“Throughout high school I wrote poetry so much. I wrote poems for people in relationships when they didn’t know what to say to their partner.”
Ms Noonan coordinates hosting the show as a volunteer around her full-time work commitments in customer relations.
Each week the show looks to highlight a different topic; Her first show coincided with January 26 and was Australia Day themed, and in the coming weeks her show will spotlight love (20 February), hilarious rhymes (27 February), mental health awareness (6 March) and indie poets (13 March).
One of the aims of the show is to promote the use of poetry as an effective coping mechanism for people struggling with their mental health.
Ms Noonan is hoping that kids and teenagers follow her lead and begin putting pen to paper, as a way to deal with the ups and downs of adolescence which have been compounded by lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions.
“Kids experience frightening things.
“Sitting down with a pen and just getting it onto a piece of paper can really help.”
There are no limitations on the style or genre of the poem, with poets all abilities encouraged to submit their work and grow the community of creative writers in the area.
Poets Corner airs on Sunday afternoons at 5pm on Casey Radio, 97.7FM.
If you are interested in having your work shared on the air, simply email poetscorner977fm@gmail.com with an audio recording of your work.
