Poet prepares for first major release

IN all the years Dr Michael Leach has been writing poetry, he’s been building to the moment he publishes his first major collection of works.

Originally training in pharmacology, his career has taken him into epidemiology, or the study of disease and illness and how it’s treated.

During that time, writing, and more specifically poetry, has become a companion.

“This collection arose out of my studies and work in healthcare, and also my personal experiences of healthcare and family members’ experiences,” he said.

“My writing started out to inform my work, and as means of reflection.

“Over time I’ve seen poetry as science communication more generally, and a potential way to engage the public in science, to see it from a different perspective.

“But it’s also been a means of catharsis; a way to work though things that I’m experiencing, particularly during the pandemic.”

Titled, Natural Philosophies, Leach’s new book is set for public release in early November, and takes a journey from the physical to the metaphysical.

Like many artists, he draws his creativity from the world around him and the things he’s experiencing.

“I’ve written poems that are inspired by stories in scientific reports and the media,” he said.

“One example is the impact of climate change and bushfires on the koala, and how the koala has become endangered in New South Wales.

“I’ve moved a bit more towards what’s called eco-poetry. Poetry about nature and poems that recognise that fact that human health is intimately entwined with the health of the planet.”

The structure of longer collected works of poetry can often be as different and as varied as the artform itself, and Natural Philosophies is no exception.

Leach has divided the work into two main parts, with a return to the idea of the physical to the metaphysical.

“Part one is called Planetarium and contains poems about the planet earth and also looking to space as well,” said.

“There’s one science-fiction poem specifically about other planets. It’s called Atmospheric. It describes how it might feel like to free-fall through the planet Jupiter.

“The next section is called the Biopsychosocial Model and that shifts more into the experiences of individual humans and how physical health is intimately entwined with psychological and social health.

“So, moving into something of a spiritual space as we get closer to the end of the book, and reach I final poem about my late mother that has quite a strong spiritual focus.”

As for the poems themselves, they are as varied as the subject matter, with everything between prose and calligrams.

“One of the key features of this book is the wide variety of poetry types and the way the poems are placed on the page,” Leach said.

“There’s quite a number of visual, or concrete poems. The koala poem for example, the words are in the shape of a koala.

“There’s another work where the words are in the shape of a rabbit, and one in the shape of a human vertebrae with long and short lines connecting.”

Natural Philosophies follows on from Leach’s shorter 2020 work, Chronicity, and since that time he’s also won awards and been published in medical journals.

Leach will launch Natural Philosophies at 4pm on Sunday, 30 October at Bookish, located at 1/358 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo. The event will include a guest speaker and readings.

The book is set for formal release on 1 November and pre-orders are being taken via publisher, Recent Work Press’ website.