Story and Poem of the Month

Our picks for November, very kindly chosen by Mark Say:

 

 

 

Story of the month

This month’s top pick is one to put a smile on your face - Chocolate, Tobacco and Horse Muck by Turlough. It’s a lovely combination of family and social history, including a series of funny anecdotes and turns of phrase, all told with affection and good eye for detail of a past life. Highly entertaining and quite touching.

https://www.abctales.com/story/turlough/chocolate-tobacco-and-horse-muck?fbclid=IwAR0XoTo2OplhqDlpKNdlCge3Qw_EHXBJKB4vjklUtmWE3pyxSl3XdR00ttQ

Two others well worth a look. Twosies or Threesies by celticman is a vivid vignette about friendship and tension between young boys living in poverty in the 1950s; and Trail of Misunderstanding by Jennifer Skinner is an intriguing and slightly disturbing description of how the unexpected can quickly turn a moment of peace into a surge of anxiety.

https://www.abctales.com/story/celticman/twosies-or-threesies#comment-758041

https://www.abctales.com/story/skinnerjennifer/trail-misunderstanding#comment-757940

 

Poem of the month

My favourite from the month is Debris by agnosticnun. It’s a poignant piece about a recent bereavement, told with economy and everyday language, conveying the loss through a series of objects and simple questions about the past.

https://www.abctales.com/story/agnosticnun/debris#comment-757942

I’m also giving a nod to Turlogh’s The Friday Pazar in Gornya Oryahovitsa, a vivid stream of imagery of an Eastern market, conveyed with a gently thumping rhythm that makes it highly entertaining; and Old Soldiers by Ewan, a series of images progressing from the camaraderie of soldiers to the violent reality of war to the numbing of PTSD.

https://www.abctales.com/story/turlough/friday-pazar-gorna-oryahovitsa

https://www.abctales.com/story/ewan/old-soldiers

Comments

 

thank you so much for mentioning my story Trail Of Misunderstanding. it was very kind of you.

Jenny. smiley

 

I'm absolutely thrilled to be the proud owner of Story of the Month and Pick of the Week.

ABC Tales is a wonderful group of very talanted and friendly writers. I really enjoy reading the work of others and receiving their words of encouragement that inspire me to write more myself.

Good on you all.  

Turlough