Per Contra Fiction Fall 2007: Maryanne Stahl

Ever heard of Flash Fiction? Miriam N. Kotzin explains it in detail in this thorough essay about the form:

"If you like short stories that begin something like, "Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, in a land where…" and then meander to their conclusion, or if you want to hunker in on a snowy night with The Recognitions for light reading, flash fiction is probably not for you. But if you want a jolt, then you might have found your form. Sudden fiction, flash fiction, micro fiction, smoke-long fiction, postcard fiction--all are names for the short short fiction, seemingly designed especially for online reading. Mark Budman, whose elegant quarterly Vestal Review publishes a half-dozen flashes of 500 words or under in each issue, says, "I love flash's intensity, its ability to say much in little space, and, let's face it, its instant gratification."

Like good poetry, good flash provides not only gratification in the moment, but as a result of its intensity, an emotional experience that persists. It's analogous to what happens when you stare directly into a flash bulb: an after-image floats for a while in your field of vision."

Maryanne Stahl provides a poignant story in the form in the Fall 2007 Issue of Per Contra. From "Your Hair, Your Weight":

""Your mother has problems," he told the kids." - Click Here to Read the Flash

Per Contra Fiction Fall 2007.