Established Merseyside poet Anna Grace Du Noyer’s latest work – Fear is a Liar – tells the story of ‘crisis, loss and survival’ during the coronavirus epidemic in three chapters. Tony McDonough reports

Merseyside poet Anna Grace Du Noyer has published a new collection exploring the link between personal trauma and the coronavirus pandemic.

Fear is a Liar, now available on Amazon, comprises three “life-affirming” chapters of poetry and prose. The books tells the story of crisis, loss and survival, the “heartbreaks and personal tragedies affect us all deeply” and the “ultimate impact of love and hope”.

Anna is best known for her poetry collections of major life and world events. Her writing ranges from explicit and poignant compositions to abstract, free verse, providing a poem for every emotion experienced during prolonged periods of crisis.

Originally from North Wales but now settled in Wirral, Anna said: “Poems have the power to translate unspeakable stories into something people can comprehend. For the poet, this means looking at the trauma right in the face.”

Revealing a little of the author’s complex life-story, Fear is a Liar explores topics such as abuse, domestic violence, grief, loneliness and rebellion. But it’s not all doom and gloom. A silver-lining of optimism runs throughout each chapter, with a layer of sarcasm and dry-wit added for good measure.

She added: “I hope that the poems can benefit others – particularly women and girls. Perhaps a small step in learning to live with their ordeals, and to own them. Being angry is ok. Laughing is fine, too – it’s your experience – and it doesn’t define you.”

Anna believes the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on trauma – whether the collective suffering from this generation-defining crisis, or personal traumas, amplified by the uniqueness of the situation.

“The coronavirus pandemic has acted as a global trigger-warning,” she explained. “It has ignited long-suppressed feelings, for many, and it would not surprise me if it caused a mental health pandemic.”

In the final chapter of Fear is a Liar, Anna observes the impact of the virus on the “fragile human spirit”. The final chapter is also available as a stand-alone book, with a special illustrated collection, Poems of the Pandemic.

The book will be featured by the Museum of Liverpool, forming part of its historical collection of COVID-19 artefacts. The collection forms an account of the 2020 pandemic for future generations seeking to learn more about the virus, and its effects on social history.

Fear is a Liar is now available as an audiobook from Amazon, Audible and iTunes. You can hear a sample of the audiobook on Anna’s YouTube channel.