Month: March 2015
Salamander
by Amanda Yskamp
The big boys lost her on purpose in the woods to mock her urbanity, because they thought she mocked their simplicity, way out in the wilds near dusk. (more…)
(de)fine (poe)try project: (Q)uote
by Alisa Golden
97 Degrees, Old Mesilla, NM
by Jari Thymian
(de)fine (poe)try project: (P)ace
by Alisa Golden
White Belt
by Yu-Han Chao
(de)fine (poe)try project: O(bserve)
by Alisa Golden
Advent
by Karen Craigo
Something in us wants
to bring in the light, sit
by a candle until we start
to feel tongues on our skin.
My head feels heavy
on the stalk of my neck,
like a seedpod the birds
return to. It isn’t true
the robins leave. They just
go deep into woods,
wait the winter out.
Sometimes you see their
twin trinities in the snow,
fat ornaments in a tree
puffed up against the chill.
Karen Craigo teaches, for the time being, at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. You’ve probably never heard of it. She is the author of two chapbooks, most recently Someone Could Build Something Here (Winged City, 2013), and her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in numerous journals.
What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “Advent”? The other day I lost my job—I mean that I found out, like non-tenure track faculty so often do, that my contract is not being renewed after this academic year. I took the news quite hard, and I’ve really been through the wringer since—sad, bitter, angry, defiant, even, in my better hours, a little hopeful and excited about what the future might hold. Since this is the liturgical season of Advent, I’m trying to lose the bitterness (God, I hate feeling that way!) and sharpen my sense of anticipation. I want to live expectantly, always hopeful and optimistic about what might come next. The more I think hopefully, the less I want to throat-punch someone. I like this poem, the first of a series, because it tries to reclaim my optimism. by Alisa Golden At 10:16 a.m. on a Saturday morning, Maria Vensasto Mortegan leapt out of a high-speed Cessna 182 wearing nothing more than her trademark yellow t-shirt and white work-out shorts. (more…)(de)fine (poe)try project: N(atural)
The Heiress
by Tara Laskowski
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 March 15, 2023. Submit here.
Upcoming
09/09 • Rae Gourmand
09/16 • Chiwenite Onyekwelu
09/23 • TBD
09/30 • TBD