‘To write: to try meticulously to retain something, to cause something to survive; to wrest a few precise scraps from the void as it grows, to leave somewhere a furrow, a trace, a mark or a few signs’ — the final words of Species of spaces, by Georges Perec (trans John Sturrock, Penguin 1997, p92).
Meself, I’d be inclined to make it ‘regain or retain’ in the first clause.
Writing Space Press, a new independent publishing enterprise, has recently published Reading space: an anthology of contemporary poetry and prose. I have two pieces included: ‘Moth’, and ‘The sisters are neighbours but no longer on speaking terms’. Aside from some formatting quirks, and a strange bit of editing in ‘Moth’, it’s a very decent debut, and it will be interesting to see what their next venture will be.
I have three micro fictions forthcoming in the fascinating, lively Hooghly Review and expected in January: ‘Birdcall’; ‘Martha and Jonathan’; and ‘Please list the sensations in order of their occurrence’. Martha and Jonathan had previously been rejected nine times, so I’m relieved they’ve found a home.