Story and Poem of the Month

Our Picks of the Month for April have been chosen by airyfairy:

 

It’s been lovely to look back at all the brilliant work that was put on the site during April. ABCTales is, I think, unique in the variety of material that we have, and in the feeling of community on the site. It’s always exciting to see new writers and to catch up with the work of regular contributors. None of which makes doing the Picks of the Month any easier! 

 

The poets have been in fine form. I was very moved by Lille Dante’s tender ‘Sonnet for Philbey’, and its last two lines in particular have stayed with me and given me much pause for thought: Sonnet for Philbey | ABCtales , while D.Marie’s ‘Sun Says’ was a marvellous example of how a deceptively simple piece can speak volumes: Sun Says | ABCtales 

 

After much thought, though, Poem of the Month for April is Lenchenelf’s ‘This Green Isle’. It gently pulls us back to a time ‘quickened in forest’, while spinning out the thread that connects that time to this. It felt particularly apt as we move into early summer: This Green Isle | ABCtales 

 

The prose writers have also been making a Pick of the Month chooser’s life extremely difficult. I greatly enjoyed marandina’s ‘Hereafter: A Holodog Story’, for its humour, tenderness, and speculation on what the digital world may bring. The first part is here: Hereafter: A Holodog Story (Part One of Three) | ABCtales . Lou Blodgett’s ‘Elves, perhaps?’ made me laugh out loud, while also offering an explanation for one of life’s puzzles: Elves, perhaps? | ABCtales .  I would also like to give a shout out to jeand’s brave, funny and brilliantly written series about her ongoing cancer treatment, the latest one of which is here: Bella the Brain Pain | ABCtales .  

 

Finally, though, Story of the Month for April is a chapter of Mark Burrow’s ongoing series about a young inner city boy navigating school, family, emotions – all of life, really. I chose this because it brilliantly evokes a school atmosphere, the dialogue is spot on and, I’ll be honest, because it contains the sentence: ‘The next class is double science and that makes me wanna shoot myself in the face with an Uzi.’ Yes, indeed. The chapter is here: Waves .4 | ABCtales , but do make sure you read the rest. It's a cracker.  

 

Thanks to all our writers for another intriguing and highly enjoyable month of reading. 

 

 

Comments

That's wonderful to hear and thank you for the kind comments. Genuinely surprised -- as you said, so many excellent pieces posted. 

 

Thanks for the mention. My closing couplet owes something to Abbey Road, which is maybe why it resonates.

 

Taken aback given the overall quality of work on this site. I suppose one of the ironies of this piece is, for example, Bylands Abbey; vast swathes of woodland cut down and marshlands drained to manufacture a glorious place of worship for mans images of kingdom and creation, destroyed in its very making.

Thank you all

Lena xx