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Flash Five Ways

One of the leading publishers of flash fiction, Rose Metal Press (RMP), recently released They Could No Longer Contain Themselves, a collection of five chapbooks of flash fiction edited by RMP founders Kathleen Rooney and Abigail Beckel. The first four chapbooks in the anthology are finalists in the fourth annual RMP chapbook competition (won by Mary Hamilton’s We Know What We Are [2010]). The last is the winner of the third competition whose limited-edition letterpress chapbook is completely sold out, and is now reprinted here for posterity. John Jodzio’s “Do Not Touch Me Not Now Not Ever” is the first chapbook in the anthology, and focuses on the differences between reality and appearance; how not everything is always as it seems. For instance, in “Dojo,” an obsessed young man steals his yoga teacher’s wallet, using her money to buy flowers and become the sympathetic shoulder she cries on. In “My First Wife,” Jodzio brilliantly uses the constant noise of a rock polisher as a metaphor purpose and motivation, unlike people whose motivations are internal and private. Last but not least is Sean Lovelace’s “How Some People Like Their Eggs,” the sold-out winner of the third annual RMP chapbook competition. Lovelace’s fictions experiment with form extensively, utilizing the short form to its maximum expressiveness. “Charlie Brown’s Diary: Excerpts,” for instance, uses six short diary entries between 1958 and 2000 to explore the psyche of the titular comic character as he goes through the repetitions of his life, persevering, but always falling short of his goals. In “A Sigh Is Just a Sigh,” Lovelace uses Casablanca (1942) as a frame around which a dissatisfied man builds some meaning and vitality back into his marriage, at least for a time. Cryptic, and thought-provoking, this is perhaps the most traditional (if such a word can be used) of the flash fictions in this anthology because each story feels truly incomplete upon the first read, demanding another perusal only after some serious thought. Brevity is one of the ultimate appeals of flash fiction. Reading flash can be squeezed into small snippets, enjoyed between the obligations of today’s fast-paced, media-saturated world. Despite the length, the best flash is more than a quick literary fix; it resonates and blooms in memory, the gnomonic nature of the fiction spurring more thought, interpretation, and meaning well after the text is put down. Each of the five authors represented in this anthology offer chapbooks of stories that are a complex interplay of themes, characters, and literary form. A perfect mix of short and rewarding fictions, They Could No Longer Contain Themselves can be consumed voraciously, ripping through the works at a pace that can’t be done with more traditional literary forms. Alternately, it can be digested slowly, one bite-sized story at a time. Either way, the stories in They Could No Longer Contain Themselves succeed in offering a wide range of literary and emotional rewards for readers who want a text that can be read quickly, but is anything but simplistic.