A NEWPORT woman has raised £800 with her first collection of poetry.

Adele Cordner was born in the city and went to Chepstow Comprehensive School. She worked as a copywriter before turning her hand to creative writing.

The Kitchen Sink Chronicles is a series of poems written by Ms Cordner and act as a diary of the first six months of the pandemic from the point of view of a mother with a vulnerable family member.

The book raised £800 so far, which is being given to Crohn’s & Colitis UK as one of Ms Cordner’s children has the condition.

Ms Cordner said: “I’ve been writing poetry for a long time, but this was the first collection that I had put together. I really wanted to get it published so that I could raise money for Crohn’s & Colitis research with my author profits.”

Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis are inflammatory bowel diseases with no known cause or cure but medication and surgery can ease symptoms.

“Since one of my children was diagnosed with this illness a few years ago, I’ve been surprised by the number of people I have met who also have the disease, particularly young people," said Ms Cordner.

“It’s a hidden condition which people don’t always want to talk about, so there is not a lot of awareness of it. I knew very little about it beforehand, but it’s a life-long and debilitating illness which now affects one in a hundred people in the UK according to the latest research.

MORE NEWS:

“I have realised that we do not understand enough about the causes of auto-immune diseases and we need to fund more research into this to help future generations. These diseases are on the increase and costing the NHS a lot of money in treatments, so I think its really important to raise money for research of causes as well as cures, and to raise awareness of these invisible conditions that affect so many people.”

The book is dedicated to Ms Cordner’s family and friends and takes the reader through vivid details of the events of last spring. It is illustrated by Ms Cordner’s daughter Florence.

“It was wonderful to work with Florence on the illustrations for the book. We were separated by the pandemic, so this was a lovely way to come together with a creative project. Her illustrations really compliment the poems. Many of the poems are set in our house or garden so I had to send her lots of photos for reference.

“She added her own special touch and we’re both really delighted with the end result and so grateful to Hedgehog Press for putting the book together for us. It’s a great feeling that we’ve been able to be able to use our creativity to support such a worthwhile charity.”

The book is available through The Hedgehog Poetry Press, Amazon and signed copies are available from adelecordner.com – the purchase includes a donation to Crohn’s & Colitis UK.