14.02.14 Story, Poem and Inspiration Point of the Week

Exciting news this week, as another ABCtales member publishes her work! Christine Hamill's 'B is for Breast Cancer' is now out with Hachette - have a look, like the page, share it with your friends and buy a copy:

https://www.hachette.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9780349401348

Christine's promised to share her story in a special guest blog that won't be long in coming - so watch this space for more about her work.

But for now I'll turn to picks of the week. A split prize for poems this week - two pieces that both had me stubbornly rereading. Barely Black Francis has been sharing a spate of absolutely excellent poems over the past few weeks - but 'Ups and Downs' is one of those pieces that seem so entirely definitive of something that I couldn't help but bookmark it on first read. It's redefined what I dream about when I dream about running. Utterly transporting, superb images, this piece will have you longing for a pair of trainers and the nearest moor:

http://www.abctales.com/story/barely-black-francis/and-downs

Our other poem of the week is Silver Spun Sand's 'For Better for Worse', an incredible portrait of the psychology of domestic abuse - what's stunning is how simple this is on the surface, and how complex the emotions beneath. Iceberg under iceberg:

http://www.abctales.com/story/silver-spun-sand/better-worse-0

Our story of the week also tackles domestic abuse - ‘The Animal Kingdom’ is novelesque in its depth, but works on the simple process of developing a few, powerful motifs – animal films and lemon sherbet – to evoke the lives and relationship of a mother and her son. This is bitter-sweet and rich, the best kind of Valentine’s offering possible:

http://www.abctales.com/story/blackjack-davey/animal-kingdom

Enjoy these - and don't forget to try out this week's IP:

http://www.abctales.com/inspiration-point-ip