Read: 1 poem, 1 short story, 1 essay every week. Write: 1 short story every month. Blog about it. To find out more about the challenge and why I'm doing it, you can find the first post about it here: The Blackthorn Challenge - Week 1 | Shona Kinsella

I am, frankly, appalled that it's Thursday again already. This week has been quite disrupted and has disappeared when I was looking elsewhere. 

Poem: A-rithist by Pàdraig MacAoidh Peter Mackay - Scottish Poetry Library

I did something a little different this week. I read this poem by Scotland's Makar, Padraig MacAoidh, first anns a' Gàidhlig (in Gaelic) and then in English. Now, my Gaelic is not strong enough to fully grasp the poem in its original form, but I could read it enough to get a feel for the rhythm and flow of the words, which was beautiful. It does lose some of that in the English translation, but I'm glad the translation is there, as it allowed me to grasp some of the terms I wasn't familiar with. This is a moving piece that looks at our place in the world with a critical eye. 

Essay: I've paired two essays this week, both shared in response to the death of Sir Patrick Stewart: O Captain, My Captain: In Memory of Sir Patrick Stewart – The British Fantasy Society and A Call To Arms To Honour Sir Patrick Stewart – The British Fantasy Society.

 Honestly, they both made me cry. Like Adrian, I watched TNG as a kid, and saw in Picard the kind of person I wanted to be. Kind, thoughtful, conscientious. Someone who led with integrity and did the next right thing, no matter how difficult it might be, and even when it put you at odds with people you like and respect. Like Katie, I deeply admired Sir Patrick himself, and the good he did in the world. He carried a quiet certainty about who he was that the world was never able to take away. Both essays are well worth your time to read. 

Short Story: Distilled Dregs by Rick Danforth in Challenging the Tides: An Anthology of Hope

This is the story of a worker pushed too far, someone who finally fights back, even though it could cost her everything. It's powerful and moving and serves as a reminder that we often have more power than we think. Also that we have a choice - even when it's a choice between two bad things, we still have a choice. I may be a little biased, having a story included in this anthology myself, but it is a wonderful collection of stories that look to hope for a better future and I highly recommend it. 

Writing: This week has been about making progress on the novel, so no short story work. I was surprised to realise this week, that I'll have three short stories published by the end of this year, with another two placed already for next year. I'm really pleased with that.