A Folding Chair
by Peter Cherches
I own a folding chair. In case a guest should arrive unexpectedly. If a guest calls in advance, gives me ample notice, let’s say three or four weeks, then there’s the choice of the easy chair, the Morris chair, the La-Z-Boy recliner, the director’s chair, the bean bag chair, the white wicker chair, the high chair or the lawn chair. But should a guest arrive unexpectedly, there is the folding chair, which creaks when you unfold it, creaks when you sit in it, creaks with every little movement, with each breath you take, and which reminds you with each and every creak—be courteous, call first.
Called “one of the innovators of the short short story” by Publishers Weekly, Peter Cherches has published in scores of journals, anthologies and websites over the past four decades. His recent books include Lift Your Right Arm, Autobiography Without Words, and a historical study, Star Course: Nineteenth-Century Lecture Tours and the Consolidation of Modern Celebrity. His next collection, Whistler’s Mother’s Son, will be published by Pelekinesis in 2020.
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What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “A Folding Chair”? “A Folding Chair” is part of a series about objects, real and imaginary. Others include “A Prosthetic Mole,” “A Letter Opener” and “A Messiah with Handles.”
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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