31.01.14 Story, Poem and Inspiration Point of the Week

Tomorrow is ABCtales’ get-together in the North – we’ll be meeting at The Black Swan in York from 18:30 – and it promises to be an incredible time. If you haven’t planned your Saturday yet, book a ticket, borrow a car, get your nan to give you a lift: do what you need to do to be there!

Among the readers will be VeraClark, whose ‘Tissue Atlas’ is our Story of the Week. This piece is a remarkable biography told in the style of a human atlas. The narrator plots the incidents of a life on a second-person tour of scars. Rich, inventive writing at its best, this is a story (and a form) that will stick with you:

http://www.abctales.com/story/veraclark/tissue-atlas

Our poem of the week is ‘What Remains,’ an elegy from Silver Spun Sand with an understated impact. The objects of the deceased carry a weight that is utterly intangible - here, some of that weight is translated on to the page, carefully and artfully. This is a homage to what’s vanished, a second lament for the possessions of someone who has already been mourned. Impressive and moving work:

http://www.abctales.com/story/silver-spun-sand/what-remains

As always, keep writing, and if you’re stuck for ideas have a go at this week’s inspiration point: http://www.abctales.com/inspiration-point-ip