New Voices premieres on April 6
Mon, 6 April 2020
New program New Voices will broadcast its first episode on Monday 6 April at 5.30pm AEST. The show will then be repeated on the following week on Sunday (19 April) at 1.30pm
The new program revolves around the art of storytelling, featuring the work of new writers (most of whom are yet to be published), providing them with writing tips and methods, reading a sample of their work, and then having another person critique it. It's an opportunity for listeners to get a glimpse inside the creative writing process, as well as a very personal exploration of having one's work critiqued.
The program has been produced and presented by 2RPH Deputy Chair Maria Issaris Walsh, who has been flat-chat learning the ropes of producing a radio program and getting the interviews together. She hopes 2RPH listeners come to understand the beauty of writing: "Writing is an art form that can be practised at any level, just like painting. Not everyone is going to be hung in the national gallery (most now-famous artists never were in their own lifetime), but their work will give many people joy and connection. These days, publishing has become a very streamlined. and quite profit-centred business. This program is about getting back to why we all want to read and write stories to begin with - to share experiences, make sense of the world, and to create worlds with words," she said.
In this first episode, Maria features the work of writer and Lifeline counsellor Wil Roach, who is critiqued by fellow writer and barrister, Kellie Edwards.
Here are their bio's.
Wil Roach is a proud Londoner born of Trinidadian parents now living in Sydney, Australia. He found his calling in community activism and has a heartfelt involvement in the mental health system. Wil is a writer of essays and currently working on a memoirs project covering the period of the mid 1960s to early 1980s, as well as a performer of his own poems and short stories.
In January 2019 "Black, Gay & Underage" the first manuscript of my three-part memoir was published by the Sydney School of Arts and Humanities. The art and practice of writing is with me in my sleep and when I hear the dawn chorus loving and caring for it unconditionally.
Of the interview on New Voices, Wil said: "I was blown away by your interview ... you provided me with perspectives I'd not heard before. My standouts were observations about memory and the visual. Kellie nailed it! I (would) love to meet her.. looking forward to the other interviews... Anyway go right ahead and get it out there ..."
Find out more about Wil. View Wil's events and performances. Download publications and resource links. Watch Wil sharing stories on video. Follow Wil's blog on Medium https://medium.com/@wilfred.roach
Kellie Edwards, a Barrister in the areas of Administration, Commercial, Discrimination, Employment and Industrial Law. She is also an avid reader, painter and writer. Kellie majored in writing at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) many years ago and is working on two books: one about a cross-dressing woman in 1400s, and the other about Henry Helleyer, architect, surveyor and artistic soul who was the first white man to survey and map North-Western Tasmania for the Van Dieman’s Land Company (and happens to be a great-great-great-uncle).
Follow on twitter @kellieaedwards. Linked in https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellie-edwards-53b3b08/. Website: https://www.denmanchambers.com.au/kellie-edwards
About being on the program, Kellie said, "It was a great gift to be able to hear writers read their work and talk about how they go about the process of writing, which confirms there are as many ways to write as there are writers, and Wilfred has a beautiful reading voice."
Image 1: Wil Roach, a writer who features on the first episode of New Voices.
Image 2: Kellie Edwards, a barrister and fellow writer critiques Will's work.