Compression: Eric Martin
“Compression, when I think about art and writing, relates to certain notions of the MIND. Personal history, cultural history, fancy, fantasy and dreams are all at play when we have a conversation about art and when we create expression. Writing with these ideas in mind, the present moment ends up becoming squished down into a little dot, a point of connection, but the connections are too many and happen too quickly to shake out the relationships between ideas. So, considering compression while writing is a bit like watching a circus out of the corner of your eye. This piece in particular tries to paint an “emotional idea” through references to fantasy and history.” — Eric Martin
Compression: Nicole Monaghan
“For me, compression is to fiction what power bars are to nutrition: loaded chunks of filling, long-lasting satisfaction that despite their smallness, and even because of it, possess the delicious essentials.” — Nicole Monaghan
Compression: Pedro Ponce
“Many of my shorts, including this one, are informed by the aesthetic of Francisco Goya. In my understanding, Goya’s etchings framed everyday imagery in such a way that it became uncanny, even grotesque. I want the reader to have a similar experience reading my short prose narratives—brevity that invites repeated readings, each one more unsettling than the last.” — Pedro Ponce
Compression: Townsend Walker
“Compression is about space. Space between words, between sentences, between paragraphs. The space that allows the reader to become part of the narrative, part of the emotion the writer is trying to convey. It allows the reader to make the tale their own. That is what the honing and whittling processes implied by the word compression are about—creating space.” — Townsend Walker
Compression: Kathleen Hellen
“I look for ironies and ambiguities in the short form, the subtle play of language, risk-taking with content.” — Kathleen Hellen
Compression: Dallas Woodburn
“When I scroll back through the most important moments of my life, there is a certain quality to the memories, as if time itself was compressed. I once read a scientific article about memories being seared into our brains due to strong emotions we were feeling at the time. This makes sense in fiction, too. I remember my favorite books for specific scenes or surprising moments that made the book real for me, moments in which the outside world fell away completely and all that existed was the sentence I was reading. I think, in order to process strong emotion, compression is necessary. I write flash fiction because there is no other way I can write such a story. It exists in the moment of compression, and to try to write it any other way would feel inauthentic and diluted.” — Dallas Woodburn
Compression: Madelynn Dickerson
“I am attracted the glimmering idea of ‘A thing to dream of, not to tell.’ Compression allows for the quick glimpses and flashes of understanding which are the underpinnings of modernism. I am interested in communicating warmly, broadly, and instantly via only the most essential signifiers.” — Madelynn Dickerson
Compression: Amanda Yskamp
“I see it more as a process of dissection or subtraction, cutting away anything unnecessary with Occam’s Razor to reveal the vital organs, all that is essential to the life force of this story.” — Amanda Yskamp
Compression: Jessie Nash
“A few seconds of memory from childhood that haunt us in nightmares and flashbacks through to adulthood—the seemingly innocent toy that we feared for unclear reason, that menace with parts that weren’t detachable, frozen forever as one with its tricycle, or inside a car, on a merry-go- round. A hand-me-down we never really wanted but were supposed to laugh at or be entertained by. Those few clockwork seconds, breeding nightmares in fevers ever since.” — Jessie Nash
Compression: Howie Good
“One of the defining characteristics of poetry for me is that it suggests a lot with a little. Prose can be discursive, but I see poetry as the most concentrated form of literary expression. It’s the difference, if you will, between the spread of a shotgun blast and the precision of a rifle shot. I am attracted to prose poetry in part because it can exploit this difference. A prose poem looks like prose, but acts like poetry, beautiful in its ambiguity” — Howie Good
Matter Press is now offering private flash fiction workshops and critiques of flash fiction collections here.
Upcoming:
03/23 • Kenneth Pobo
03/30 • Roberta Allen
04/06 • Avril Shakira Villar
04/13 • TBD
04/20 • TBD
04/27 • TBD
05/04 • TBD
05/11 • TBD
05/18 • TBD
05/25 • TBD
06/01 • TBD
06/08 • TBD
06/15 • TBD
06/22 • TBD
06/29 • TBD
07/06 • TBD
07/13 • TBD
07/20 • TBD
07/27 • TBD
08/03 • TBD
08/10 • TBD
08/17 • TBD
08/24 • TBD
08/31 • TBD
09/07 • TBD
09/14 • TBD
09/21 • TBD