As If It Could Possibly Forget
by Douglas W. Milliken
A five-legged beetle marching across the sun porch floor, every few steps stumbling as if forgetting—as if still relying upon—its missing leg.
Douglas W. Milliken is the author of three novels—To Sleep as Animals, Our Shadows’ Voice, and Enclosure Architect (forthcoming)—the family history Any Less You (forthcoming), and the collection Blue of the World. www.douglaswmilliken.com
See what happens when you click below.
What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “As If It Could Possibly Forget”? I composed this piece about six weeks before my cat had her right rear leg amputated due to an Injection Site Sarcoma. There’s no way I could have known I was writing a metaphor about her future weeks and months of recovery.
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
10/12 • Kathy Fish
10/19 • Katherine Garrison
10/26 • Beverly Jackson
11/02 • Robert Scotellaro
11/09 • T.L. Sherwood
11/16 • Susan Buchler
11/23 • Chelsea Stickle
11/30 • TBD
12/07 • TBD
12/14 • TBD
12/21 • TBD
12/28 • TBD