Compression: Claire Bateman
“The idea of compression is a vector for many of my passions—miniatures; interiority/exteriority and their relationship; hiding/the hidden; information theory, etc. I picture Emily Dickinson’s volcanoes as fitting (perhaps nested) within her. In my writing, I sometimes portray the world as very dense, compacted, as though whatever implement we need in order to be able to ‘handle it’ is embedded in the center.” — Claire Bateman
Compression: Cynthia Neely
“Compression in this sense to me is akin to an impressionistic painting where all the necessary information can be relayed in few strokes. I hope this piece works into your parameters. I find the concept of your publication intriguing.” — Cynthia Neely
Compression: Mary Meriam
“A compressed poem is a recipe for muffins.” — Mary Meriam
Compression: Stephen Dorneman
“Compression brings the base elements of whatever is being compressed closer together, forcing interactions, pushing both flaws and virtues to the surface. Items under compression—metals, lives, fictions—become stronger or fail. They cannot remain as they were.” — Stephen Dorneman
Compression: Nicholas Grider
“I’m an artist and writer and make a decent amount of text art; my constraint-based work called Unsolicited Advice contains digital images that mimic backlit roadside acrylic signs filled with bad or strange advice. Compression is an important factor in the work in that I’ve only given myself 50 spaces for letters in each work, which makes for five lines of ten letters in which to offer at least one sentence that seems similar to but set apart from advice you might actually receive. ” — Nicholas Grider
Compression: Lucinda Kempe
Compressed prose uses few words to say as much as possible.
Compressed prose uses few words to say as much as.
Compressed prose uses few words to say as much.
Compressed prose uses few words to say as.
Compressed prose uses few words to say.
Compressed prose uses few words to.
Compressed prose uses few words.
Compressed prose uses few.
Compressed prose uses.
Compressed prose.
Compressed.
— Lucinda Kempe
Compression: Beth Thomas
“Achieving a balance between beauty and brevity is something I still struggle with: how to remove the fat without losing all the juice. I am starting to learn my wasted words: that, so, then. I am learning to focus on a moment. I rarely write resolution.” — Beth Thomas
Compression: Jennifer Johnson
“In a world awash with words, information, and perspectives, manageable containers also matter. Short fiction gives me the opportunity to explore a single transition, to watch my characters shift from one state to another. All that they have been and all that they might be are compressed into that instant, constrained yet full of potential, like the pause between one breath and the next.” — Jennifer Johnson
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