The River
by Laurence Musgrove
I’m going through the Cheerios too fast. I need to keep myself to one bowl a day. Just breakfast. Or dinner. Not both. Not lunch. If I was at my folks, I wouldn’t have to make these decisions. But that’s over. I felt this thing click in my head, like watching a door being locked against me. So now I’ve got to sort out how to fill the frig, try to tell what’s gone sour or bad on my own, stuff dirty clothes in my backpack, coins in my pocket, as I pedal after dark to the laundromat on the other side of the river, the river that could have easily killed me if it didn’t love me so much.
Laurence Musgrove is a Texas writer, teacher, and editor. His previous books include Local Bird – a poetry collection, One Kind of Recording – a volume of aphorisms, and The Bluebonnet Sutras – Buddhist dialogues in verse, all from Lamar University Literary Press. Professor of English at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, he teaches courses in composition, literature, and creative writing. He is also editor and publisher of Texas Poetry Assignment.
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What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “Poster”? I attended an online workshop recently hosted by Writers’ Studio of Corpus Christi on composing strong openings for narratives. The first draft of “The River” was the result of that workshop. Afterward, I realized this opening also had a beginning, middle, and end. I then decided that it could also serve as a compressed piece of micro or flash fiction.
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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
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