WHEN the world went quiet during lockdown, one man from Ashton-under-Lyne found his voice through poetry.
Now, Andy Gater’s words have been published for all to read.
The 60-year-old has released his debut book The Covid Poet – 101 Weeks of Covid Poems.
It’s a powerful anthology written over 100 consecutive weekends during the pandemic.
What began as a personal project while recovering from the virus in March 2020 soon became a creative ritual that carried him through the uncertainty of lockdown life.
Andy, a food manufacturing manager, says the poems reflect the emotions, humour and humanity of an unprecedented time.
Two years after the first lockdown was lifted, Andy had built a complete poetic diary of the Covid era, but it wasn’t until last year that he decided to share it with the world.
His collection was picked up by Olympia Publishing and the book is now available to buy through Waterstones, Foyles, Olympia Publishing, and Amazon.
Andy is also planning to support a local Tameside charity with sales from the book.
He’s not putting down his pen just yet, too, as his next project, already in progress, is entitled 101 Weeks of Donald Trump.