Story and Poem of the Month

Our Story and Poem of the Month for July, very kindly chosen by Mark Say:

Story of the Month

Our writers produced a treasure trove of good stories from The Way We Heard writing challenge this month, conveying a range of emotions including sadness, frustration, sexual longing, teenage anger and a great sense of fun.

I’ve chosen one of these as story of the month, a two-parter from airyfairy, Three Coins in the Fountain. It’s convincing family drama set in the 1950s, excellent in its creation of the domestic environment through a series of details and credible dialogue, and very poignant in the emotions and frustrations that it conveys.

https://www.abctales.com/story/airyfairy/way-we-heard-three-coins-fountain-1954-pt1

https://www.abctales.com/story/airyfairy/way-we-heard-three-coins-fountain-1954-pt2

Two more I really enjoyed. Another from the writing challenge is Love Was All Around Us by celticman, an engaging, rough arsed vignette about teenage lust.

https://www.abctales.com/story/celticman/way-we-heard-love-was-all-around-us

And – this one not from the iwriting challenge – Coming Home by Makis, a dramatic yet credible story about a man returning from war to his home to find it radically changed.

https://www.abctales.com/story/makis/coming-home
 

Poem of the month

There have also been plenty of admirable poems to read.

My highlight of the month is Clearing Out by maudsy, a touching poem about the uncertainty and dislocation created by bereavement, conveyed with a series of unexpected but strangely appropriate images.

https://www.abctales.com/story/maudsy/clearing-out

Several others are well worth a read, but I’ll highlight Voices by Ewan, a short, sharp description of mental confusion; and Here Comes The Sun by Ruthio, a powerful blast of joy linking childbirth to the natural elements of the Earth.

https://www.abctales.com/story/ewan/voices

https://www.abctales.com/story/ruthio/here-comes-sun