Sherlock Holmes: 60 for 60

Canon Story: The Mazarin Stone
Title: Crack
Author: scfrankles
Rating: G
Author's Notes: "But the false bottom ain't ready."


“So you’ll do it?” asked Holmes.

Watson nodded gravely. “Naturally I’ll smuggle the papers out! Anything for my country!”

“Excellent.”

Holmes picked up two moulded rubber mounds. Watson frowned at them, and glanced at his suitcase.

“Holmes, when you said I’d be making use of a ‘false bottom’ I thought…”

“Yes?”

Watson sighed and began undoing his trousers. “Never mind.”

This week, the canon story we’re looking at is The Mazarin Stone and the chosen topic is Humour.

( Discussion continues... )

Welcome once again to my poetry page!

I hope each week you will read Dr. Watson’s delightful narrative (though once again, did the Doctor write this particular story..?) and then be inspired to write a poem related to it in some way. All forms of poetry are permitted, and further down the page there is a selection you might like to consider using over the coming weeks.

Before we begin, I would just like to mention that the 6th was of course Mr. Holmes’s birthday. And as well as receiving a splendid Epiphany Tart from okapi1895, he also received another from vaysh. You can see her photograph of her magnificent creation below:



I can confirm that both tarts tasted delicious. And as well as those delightful treats, gardnerhill popped round with a chocolate cake! I cannot tell you how that tasted because soon after it arrived Mr. Holmes declared he had to go and check it for suspicious substances—returning an hour later with an empty plate and a large smile on his face.

Anyway, this week my featured form is the elfje. I was inspired in my choice by Sam Merton’s “fairy footstep” and by the mention of Van Seddar and Amsterdam.

( Definition and Example )



As always, this is simply something to consider for the future. Any form of poetry is welcome this week—and every week! Here are a few suggestions for you:

221B verselet, abecedarian poetry, acrostic poetry, alexandrine, beeswing, blackout poetry, blues stanza, bref double, Burns stanza, call and response, chastushka, cinquain, circular poetry, clerihew, colour poems, concrete poetry, Cornish verse, curtal sonnet, diamante, doggerel, double dactyl, ekphrasis, elegiac couplet, elegiac stanza, elfje, englyn, epigram, epitaph, epulaeryu, Etheree, fable, found poetry, ghazal, haiku, Italian sonnet, kennings poem, lanturne, limerick, lyric poetry, mathnawī, palindrome poetry, pantoum, poem cycle, quintilla, renga, riddle, rime couée, Schüttelreim, sedoka, septet, sestina, sonnet, tanka, tercet, terza rima, tongue twister poetry, triolet, tyburn, villanelle


Please leave all your poems inspired by The Mazarin Stone in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!


Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

This Sunday, 10th January, we'll be posting our 60 word ficlets for The Mazarin Stone.

And so we're reading a second story told in third person. The mystery we need to solve is: just who wrote MAZA? It's not up to Watson's usual standards; was he having an off-day? Is it Holmes trying his hand? Was it the work of a hack writer supplied by Watson's publisher? Was it the work of Billy - somewhat suspiciously described as the "very wise and tactful page"?

Oh, yes - and there's something about a missing diamond as well.

If you haven't tried 60 for 60 before, full information - including our schedule - can be found on our profile. But in essence: you read ACD's story and then you write a 60 word story inspired by it! You don't have to post a story every week - just join in whenever you feel like it.

Each Sunday we will also have our weekly discussion post, and Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page. Any poems inspired by this week’s story can be left as a comment on her post.

You can choose one activity, or have a go at everything. Or just come along and read the 60s! (And have a chat in the comments ^^) All options are absolutely fine.

Hope to see you on Sunday ^^