Story and Poem of The Month

Our picks for the month of January, very kindly chosen by airyfairy:

I’m writing this just after the latest ABC Tales Reading Event, which only proved, once again, how much talent there is on this site. Not only the writing – the readings were pretty amazing too! 

         So of course it’s been really hard to make this month’s choices. I’ve enjoyed so many wonderful stories and poems, and in the end it came down to the ones that gripped me right from the first word and have stayed with me ever since.

         Among the many great poems, I so enjoyed onemorething’s ‘Wolves, blizzard’ (Wolves, blizzard | ABCtales), an ‘imagistic’ poem (I didn’t know about those, so it was educational too!) with its wonderful imagery and, for me, truly haunting last couple of lines. I also loved Turlough’s ‘Lady Danube’ (Lady Danube | ABCtales). It’s a love letter to the river, but it doesn’t shy away from the more heartless aspects of this beautiful force of nature. 

         But my pick for Poem of the Month is Harry C’s ‘Sealwatching’ (Sealwatching | ABCtales). It completed captivated me. Deceptively simple, it is shot through with tension, longing, anticipation and regret. I’ve returned to it several times since first reading it, and it never disappoints.

         Our prose writers also excelled themselves. Ross Lowe’s ‘Timesnot’  (Timesnot | ABCtales) is a funny, immensely relatable tale of new parenthood that suddenly turns into a surreal time-travelling nightmare – an irresistible combination. And I was dangerously close to having something in my eye when I read donignacio’s ‘Mr Lee’s Café’ (Mr. Lee's Cafe | ABCtales) a tale of love, memory, lots and lots of coffee and an unforgettable character.

         My choice for Story of the Month, though, came in right at the beginning of January. Jane Hyphen’s ‘Five Other People Are Looking At This Item’ (Five Other People Are Looking At This Item | ABCtales) takes a witty and more than slightly creepy look at two of our modern obsessions: shopping and the internet. I don’t think I’ll ever feel entirely easy about ordering online again.

         Many thanks to them and all the ABCtales writers who helped us get through the dreaded January!