Every time I go to Myanmar*, my first stop is the Yangon book market, which consists of several "shops"—blankets spread on the thronged sidewalk—piled with hundreds of volumes, many of which are tattered English primers dating from the days of colonial rule.
In the same way that a conversation with a non-native English speaker can make the whole language seem fresh, even the simplest declarative sentences in these old books can feel full of significance and portent.
Today's assignment is to write a mystery novel in the shape of a poem using as many of the following sentences and phrases as you like.
*I say Myanmar and Yangon because that's what my Burmese friends there say. In the US Burma and Rangoon are the more well-known names for these places.
