POETRY & SPOKEN WORD

Under the name A. K. Davidson I write poetry, which I also enjoy performing. I started writing poems in 2022 when I was ill with Long Covid and haven't stopped since. I'm a member of the Kent & Sussex Poetry Society and appear regularly at open mic nights.

I share my work in progress on Instagram: @mondayispoetry ­– everyday life in verse.

My debut collection is out now!

Life isn't for the faint-hearted – nor is living with chronic illness. Grief, acceptance, loneliness, friendship, small joys, healing moments, new perspectives: here are forty-one short poems that offer bite-sized comfort and connection, for anyone in need of a tonic.

The paperback and ebook are available from all good bookshops. You can find   

reader reviews here and some endorsements below.

The book can also be found in many local libraries. If it's not in yours, do consider ordering in a copy. PB ISBN 978-1-899587-82-7. Ebook ISBN 978-1-899587-83-4. Thank you!

‘In her introduction, A. K. Davidson says that having Long Covid deconstructs a person, but these poems are an example of how the careful use of language can help to build a (new) life. They are brave, thoughtful, funny at times and almost unbearably poignant at others, and yet always so generous in sharing an experience of chronic illness when people can feel invisible. I think they will comfort many readers, and educate still more. I already have a growing list of people I can’t wait to share this book with.’ 

Sarah Salway, poet & novelist

‘Surprisingly funny; touching; and uplifting. I'm going to shout it from the rooftops: everyone should get a copy of this book.’ 

Sarah Evans, the Long Haul Yogi

'Profound and beautiful...Many of us have tried to communicate the complexity of the Long Covid experience, and capture the associated trauma, grief, loss, exclusion, pain and moments of fleeting joy. But not many have done it as well as A. K. Davidson. Brought me to tears immediately. I wouldn’t have thought poetry was the natural place to communicate the complexity of this experience – but it turns out it is perhaps the best.'

Gez Medinger, investigative science journalist and patient advocate for Long Covid, co-author of The Long Covid Handbook

'WHAT A JOY!  Funny and sad and educational and uplifting – everything a good read should give you.' 

Hannah Gee, Word Up!

'Anna's poems are absolutely beautiful. It's a very beautiful little book. It's got a gorgeous cover and the contents, both the poems and the writing around the poems, and the sense of why Anna wrote these poems – what they mean for her, and what she hopes they might achieve for the world – it's just fabulous...And in terms of thinking about invisible illness, thinking about disability, thinking about recovery, thinking about missing out, some of the psychological effects of living with a physical long-term condition: it's absolutely unbeatable. Certainly something I'm going to be using in my teaching, and it's a collection I will come back to again and again.'

Dr Tara George, GP and GP Trainer, Bedside Reading Podcast

'I love how expressive, thoughtful, emotional and emotive [the poems] can be...Anna definitely captures many of my thoughts and feelings living with Long Covid...I could relate immensely.' 

Julie Taylor, Living with Long Covid Podcast

'If you have Long Covid you will find a friend in this.'

Kate McLachlan from the Covid Support Community

'I really love Poetry for Life and Other Chronic Conditions – it so needed to be written... The way you play with words and type is very relevant to our modern, difficult world, distilling everything down to the very essence of what you want to say, in easy to understand language, makes poetry accessible and comforting to everyone. Congratulations.'

Janice Shillum Bhend, FCIJ

Reader reviews