Frontline poems set to raise NHS funds

"Poems for a Pandemic" is a collection of poems and other written works by key workers, their families and friends, writing about their experiences during the coronavirus pandemic.

Retired NHS nurse Angela Marston has been the driving force behind the book, having started writing her own poems while suffering from the virus.

While making her recovery, the 56-year-old said she had a moment of inspiration when seeing how other people were using poetry as a way of coping during the pandemic.

She said: "I started writing poems while I was ill, which was something I hadn't done for more than 30 years, and kept doing it when I was recovering.

"I started to see key workers on Facebook and Twitter posting their own poems and got the idea to collect those and publish them in a book."

There will be 100 poems in the book, coming from a range of ages and from different parts of the world, with contributions coming from as far as Canada and New Zealand.

Angela, who was a nurse at different hospitals and hospices around Walsall and Cannock for 40 years, said she hoped she and the book could inspire people to be creative during the pandemic.

She said: "There were a group of healthcare professionals in Manchester who have got poems in this book, which surprised them when they found out.

"They've said they're hoping to set up a poetry forum for people in their hospitals and trusts to take part in, so it's nice to see some people could be inspired by this book.

"I've lived and breathed it for six weeks since the start working 10 to 12 hours a day to collate these poems, edit them and put them order.

"There's no limit to how much we want to raise and all funds will go to the NHS charities to help those battling this virus."

"Poems for a Pandemic" is on sale for download at amazon.co.uk/Poems-Pandemic-Ordinary-extraordinary-circumstances-ebook/dp/B089NH6R95

To find out more about the book and to hear additional readings of the poems, go to facebook.com/poemsforapandemic/