In 1263, matter referred to a maker of mats. Consider this our welcome mat:
fortune cookies marbles broken drumstick tips skittles buttons figurines pebbles baby tomatoes bunnies temper tantrums stars we see bottled water punctuation hiccups small dogs stationary bikes smart phones smart children doormats dumbbells donut holes greeting cards vampire bats donating blood nicknames stubbed toes raised eyebrows toothbrush paste purell white hairs ukuleles teaspoons hot tubs miniature milky ways ritual sacrifice shivers christmas trees bonsai trees welcome travel shampoo bullets wiffle balls carpools pills espresso coca-cola tic-tacs second-hands wristwatches accidents dams lullabies street signs potholes handguns archeological finds common sense character flaws nail clippers ice cream dippers surround sound cereal somersaults symbolism claustrophobia lighters other people problems channel flickers popcorn kernels truth carbonation characterization stores convenience fireplaces ping pong balls wrapping paper packing peanuts boxes jingles clown cars tic-tac-toe toy poodle umbrellas signatures bugbites whiskey
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Matter Press obsesses over compression as a contemporary creative form, and we are much more interested in how compression matters to you than how it matters to us. Out of a dense singularity that contained the entire universe: matter! That’s what we are looking for, these particular moments of compression, out of which expand the universal. Or something like that.
To that end, we’ve created a journal that publishes weekly compressions & decompressions, a press that publishes chapbooks and collections, and two blogs, one here and the other at FlashFiction.Net. Tiny things will also appear here & there in the margins. We like to think of compression not as a gimmick or a temporary notion of the times. We like to think of the tiniest things mattering in astounding and lasting ways. We look forward to being wowed by what you bring to the world of compression, of the largeness that expands beyond its confines, astounding us for eons to come.
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.
Upcoming:
09/16 • Chiwenite Onyekwelu
09/23 • TBD
09/30 • TBD