(See also Achievements & Accreditation. For photographs, please see Photo Gallery. For examples of Catherine’s work, see poetry selection).
the early years
Catherine Hannah was born in Blackpool, England in 1985. Being the eldest of four and growing up in a neighborhood full of children of a similar age, Catherine has always been the social sort. In addition, Catherine has always been an animal lover, which she attributes to the multitude of pets her family acquired in her childhood.
When she was very young, her parents gave her a very small electric keyboard, purchased for a few English pounds at a garage sale. This sparked a lifelong love of music and at age eight, Catherine took her very first piano lesson.
education
However, Catherine was wary of music becoming a chore. Having developed an interest in literature and theatre as a teenager, she decided to pursue this alternative avenue of the arts into higher education. A diligent student, Catherine attended university in Liverpool, where she graduated with a BA(hons) in Drama and Imaginative Writing. This was her first in depth exploration of poetry, but despite enjoying the course her interest lay sleeping for many years. She continued to study the piano alongside her degree and in the months before she graduated, Catherine passed her ABRSM Grade Eight in Pianoforte. After graduation, Catherine left Liverpool to teach in the Rock Star department of a Californian summer camp; a three month post she returned to every year for eight years. During the ‘off season’, she travelled extensively around the US and eventually flew to visit her many summer camp friends who hailed from Melbourne, Australia.
the road to citizenship
During her first visit to Melbourne, Catherine felt an unexplainable and undeniable urge that the Australian state of Victoria was where she was meant to be. After having a lot of fun travelling and working round the country on working holiday visas, Catherine made the decision to move to Australia permanently in 2015 on a student visa, with a view to future citizenship. She qualified with her Diploma in Early Childhood Education in 2017 and was sponsored for permanent residency status by a childcare centre in Torquay, Victoria. Not long after this, she met a handsome man called Don and they moved in together in Geelong, Victoria and purchased a pair of baby rabbits they named Missy and Doc.
rediscovering poetry
In May 2020, Catherine was driving to work when she was involved in a serious car crash; the consequences of a stranger’s whim. Faced with life changing injuries including a bilateral C2 fracture and Traumatic Brain Injury, Catherine rediscovered her love for writing. She embraced the power of poetry for healing to make sense of road trauma and her subsequent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS) diagnoses.
Writing poetry also helped Catherine to accept the major life changes heralded by the crash. With PCS symptoms (which continue to this day) including sensitivity to noisy and busy environments, balance issues and extreme fatigue, she was forced to relinquish her role as an early childhood educational leader as well as her studies towards becoming an early years teacher. She was awarded a Diploma in Early Childhood Studies as she had completed the majority of the units required for accreditation- not the Bachelor’s Degree she wanted, but better than nothing.
Giving up the career she loved hurt; but as well as lows there were some dizzying highs. She was finally granted her Australian Citizenship and celebrated marriage to Don in an intimate garden ceremony. Poetry helped her process it all.
current work
Catherine is currently active on social media via Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Her debut poetry collection, The Ballad of the Bunny and Other Poems: The Diary of a Car Crash and Beyond (published February 2024) is an exploration of her recovery through lyric poetry and a smattering of personal photographs. Formatted as journal entries spanning 3.5 years, the reader is at Catherine’s side through the ‘ups, downs and back agains’ of road trauma recovery. (See here for reviews).
performance poetry
Catherine is an active member of Geelong Writers. She also performs regularly at Lowercase Poetry, a monthly open mic poetry night. Inspired by both established and emerging writers from different walks of life, Catherine was encouraged to hold a live online poetry reading to celebrate the launch of her first book. Held as part of National Road Safety Week 2024, the event was also a successful fundraiser for Amber Community: Road Incident Support and Education. (For a recording of the event, see here). Catherine also volunteers as a Lived Experience Volunteer for Amber Community, telling her story at Road Trauma Awareness Seminars (RTAS) to help change driver behaviour for the better.