CNF
by Terena Elizabeth Bell
Zoomers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 2024
In the room young women come and go, TikToking Michelangelo.
Terena Elizabeth Bell is a fiction writer. Her debut short story collection,Tell Me What You See (Whiskey Tit, 2022), was named one of the “best books of the century” by New York Society Library. Her writing has appeared in more than 100 publications. A Kentucky native, she lives in New York. Get one story delivered to your inbox every month by subscribing here: patreon.com/terenaelizabethbell.
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What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “Zoomers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 2024”? I go to the Metropolitan Museum often and every time I do, I can’t help but notice how many people never actually look at the art. No matter what part of the museum you’re in, you see them: these women in their 20’s who walk around with their phones held up the entire time, recording, eyes locked on their screens. One day I was on a bench in one of the European galleries and this sentence just came to me.
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.
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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
12/15 • Isabelle Ness
12/22 • Catherine Bai
12/29 • Stephan Viau
01/05 • Allison Blevins
01/12 • Justin Ocelot
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01/26 • Mathieu Parsy
02/02 • Robert McBrearty
02/09 • Sarah Daly
02/16 • Wayne Lee
02/23 • Terena Elizabeth Bell
03/02 • Michael Mirolla
03/09 • Nicholas Claro
03/16 • TBD
03/23 • TBD
03/30 • TBD