I’m pleased to have a new story freshly published in this season’s filling Station.
Since 1993, filling Station has been publishing innovative and experimental prose, poetry, literary journalism, and visual art. It’s a gorgeous print magazine published three times a year out of Calgary, Alberta. This is my first piece in its beautiful pages, and I’m in great company.
Issue 85 is on the theme of Companionship. Friends, family, pets, rivals — all those who accompany us through life.
My story, “Lighting fires in memoir class,” is about my mother. It’s more personal than the short fiction I usually write, and it unfolds in small bursts. It found the perfect home in filling Station.
Here’s an excerpt:
She grew old with dementia, no light left, all her memories in shadow – too late to ask about it now – and we stopped bothering to remember her because labelling is easier and we’re so confused, we think it hurts less. We grew to label our labels as truth but we got it wrong. It wasn’t like that. We can’t find our happy memories because a few brief flashes blinded us.
It’s a sad story but it’s a happy story too. That’s family for you.
I love it when litmags have themed issues. There are 25 literary and visual artists showcased in the Companionship issue. Buy a copy of filling Station to read them all.
Subscribe to filling Station to keep your creative tank filled up year-round. And check out the filling Station blog for interviews, events, and talk about craft.
If you also write short fiction, check out my Canadian LitMag List and submit something today.
It was a deeply moving experience for me to write “Lighting fires in memoir class” and to share it with the world. I hope you’ll try something out of your comfort zone for your next literary creation. 🙂
Catherine Austen 