Blogs

Getting Cross At Easter!

I probably shouldn't say this, but there are things about Easter that irritate me. I think it's a subject that warrants a little discussion, so bear with me. Just as an aside, that phrase 'bear with me' always makes me think of The Perishers in the Daily Mirror from years ago, where one of the characters had a bear called Gladly. It was called this because it had cross-eyes, from the hymn, 'Gladly , my cross I'd bear'. Seemed an appropriate...

New Grammar Schools - Rotten Idea

I've been there, I won a place to a selective school when I was eleven. I think the system's crap. Does anyone believe that the youngsters labelled less academically able at eleven will get the same money spent on them as grammar school students? The argument for secondary modern schools was that these were for young people who would leave school as soon as they were legally allowed. Some would then learn a trade and the employer would give them...

Kevin McKenna Guardian Unlimited. Freakshow TV has replaced bread and circuses.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/09/freak-show-television-has-replaced-bread-and-circuses I know I don’t do enough reading or enough writing. Unless Celtic are playing on a Sunday, which increasingly they are, I do nothing much but read the Observer from cover to magazine. Kevin McKenna is the kind of specialist they consult about all things Scottish. Like me he’s a Celtic man. Here he is mimicking me, I’ve been saying these...

Poetry Monthly - Good News!

I am very pleased to be able to tell you that the lovely Noo is going to be taking over Poetry Montly, starting at the beginning of May. We have such a brilliant team of people who offer their precious time to keep ABCTales a vibrant and supportive community and I am so grateful to all of them - thank you!

Sula by Toni Morrison

'What are the risks of individuality in a determinedly individualistic, yet racially uniform and socially static community?' Good question. Could be me talking about Exmouth, East Devon today. Could be Elena Ferrante talking about the working-class Naples of her dual heroines Lila and Elena. It's Toni Morrison, writing in 2005. She is writing a new foreword to her second novel Sula. It was first published in 1973. At the time she was a single...

Story and Poem of the Week and Inspiration Point

Two stand-out brilliant pieces this week: Sam Hennig's wonderful 'Nike' is our Poem of the Week and airyfairy's word perfect tribute to her mother - 'The List' is our Story of the Week. Well deserved congratulations to both: https://www.abctales.com/story/samhennig/nike https://www.abctales.com/story/airyfairy/list Here's the Inspiration Point: https://www.abctales.com/inspiration-point-ip Finally, our readers' list for the ABCTales get together...

Elena Ferrante (2012) The Story of a New Name translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein.

Book two of the quartet of Neapolitan novels The Story of a New Name , ‘Youth’ follows directly on from the childhood of Lila and Elena, My Brilliant Friend and their friends and families. This book, for example, ends when Lila and Elena are aged 23. Elena is indeed brilliant has graduated with top grades and top honours from the University of Pisa and finds herself engaged, to be married in two years in 1969, to another brilliant student and...

Poetry Monthly

I’m sad to inform you that Poetry Monthly has come to its natural end. There have been so many talented poets on board since its start in 2015 and we've had such pleasure in reading each other's beautiful outputs each month. I want to thank all of you for contributing ideas for briefs, for your inspirations and for consistently bringing so much to the table with the sort of quality peer feedback that writers would be hard pushed to pay for. ABC...

Yuval Noah Hurari (2011) Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind.

I bought this book about two years ago, started reading it and put it in a wicker basket at the side of the couch. It got covered by other books, but like yeast it worked its way to the surface and into my consciousness and left its thumb-print on me, which will fade, indeed, has faded, because I’m pretty dumb. By now, of course, Yuval Noah Harari has a follow-up book out, which I also intend to buy (and leave in a wicker basket by the side of...

Story and Poem of the Month

Story and Poem for the month of March very kindly selected by accidentallyexisting: I've not much time for reading these days and tend to skim until I find something to catch my attention for more than a few seconds and two pieces did quite quickly. The story - which, caught me in the first line was a gritty, twisted tale. Both wry and sad at the same time, I wanted to keep reading long after it had ended on a rather dramatic cliffhanger. I do...

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