CNF: Suspended Animation

by M. McCune

[Editor’s Note: Click on the triptych below to view it at full size.]

M.P. McCune lives in New York City with her husband, kids and a bearded dragon. She writes flash in the scraps of time left over at the end of the day. You can see more of her work in Atlas and Alice, Former Cactus, and Gravel and find her on Twitter @MPMcCune2.

What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “Suspended Animation”?

As a child, I ran and played tag among the graves in the Church cemetery after services. The contrast between the kid’s laughter and the stillness of the grave struck me. When my mother was buried, I found it hard to reconcile. Being at the bottom of the pool, in silence while everyone splashed above me helped me make sense of it.

Check out the write-up of the journal in The Writer.

Matter Press recently released titles from Meg Boscov, Abby Frucht, Robert McBrearty, Tori Bond, Kathy Fish, and Christopher Allen. Click here.

Matter Press is now offering private flash fiction workshops and critiques of flash fiction collections here.

Submissions

Poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction/prose poetry submissions are now closed. The reading period for standard submissions opens again September 15, 2025. Submit here.

Upcoming

05/04 • Leath Tonino
05/11 • Chris Pellizzari
05/18 • Chris Clemens
05/25 • Clayton Eccard
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