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The Medium Contemplates The End Of Her Marriage

by J. Bradley

I could talk to anyone I wanted except my husband. I begged him to talk about anything in the hopes he would reveal more of himself: the weather, the news, which professional wrestler he enjoyed watching this week. I’m better at showing how I feel, he said, before revealing this week’s apology bouquet for not saying enough (again).

I gave him my parting gift on the morning of our divorce. I told him that his mother said: I’m so sorry this is over. Don’t worry. You’ll find someone better. When he cried, I almost didn’t want to let him go.

 

J. Bradley is the author of Neil And Other Stories (Whiskey Tit Books, 2018) and Greetings From America: Letters from the Trade War (Whiskey Tit Books, 2019). He lives at jbradleywrites.com.

What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “The Medium Contemplates The End Of Her Marriage”?

This originally was a poem in a series of poems I’m working on where different characters in the circus address the demise of their relationships. When I looked at the poem, I didn’t feel like the heart of the poem was there but there was good idea worth saving. Sometimes, a poem isn’t always a poem. You have to trust yourself to acknowledge that and dig out something more interesting.

News

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.

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