Quiet Master of Flash: Angela Readman
A U.K. Short Form Master Equally Adept with Poetry, Short Story and Novel
You will find Northumberland UK based Angela Readman’s short fiction and poetry collections living in the hearts and bookshelves of short form lovers in-the-know. Readman is a writers’ writer— a quiet master of the short form, and equally brilliant with short stories, novels, and poetry. Her short story, “The Keeper of the Jackalopes” won the prestigious Costa Short Story Award, and her story “Don't Try This At Home” was shortlisted for the same competition the previous year. A poem of Angela Readman’s won first prize in the ultra-competitive Mslexia Women's Poetry Competition.
When I came across Readman's flash fiction in online magazines about 8 years ago, I devoured it whenever I could find it. I fell hard for her quirky, serious, beautiful short form writing, and later, for her 1950s coming-of-age novel set on a remote Scottish island, the acclaimed Something Like Breathing (written in mostly flash-sized chapters) which The Guardian sited as a “luminous debut” and which has been noted for it’s effective and important focus on gender dynamics in the 1950s.
Her poetry is equally spellbinding. A recent collection, “Bunny Girls” was recently published by Nine Arches Press (Nine Arches Press, 2022). Angela’s darkly surreal Don’t Try This At Home (And Other Stories Press) is one of my favourite short story collections.
It is clear that Readman’s work with distilling language, shaving a piece down to only what is essential from years of writing poetry has informed her flash fiction, short story and novel writing. My favorite writers of flash fiction are poets. This is something Angela Readman has in common with New Zealand’s Frankie McMillan (showcased last time).
Brimming with mystery, bold and unsettling, a Readman pieces mess with the status quo and distort our perceptions in an addictive way. Below is an excerpt from “Ten Months With Octopus” (winner of the Flash Fiction Prize at New Flash Fiction Review).
Something to note: Angela is a master at the “list story”.
#4. Houdini the Octopus has left the building. They imagine he squeezed through a drain & will find himself at the ocean like a surfer who thinks he left his keys in the door. I say this aloud, turning towards the cushion as if it may find this funny. I switch a programme about wallpaper to something about homeowners and self-defence.
You can read the whole story, Ten Months With Octopus, here:
Below is an excerpt from “Improbable Cures for Insomnia” (Jellyfish Review)
The bed shivers and falls still as you scratch yourself to sleep. I lie beside you deciding I won’t do it tonight. I’ll just close my eyes, but I can’t. I crawl under the sheets with the torch on my keyring and shine. One finger on Velcro, I peer inside the wound like someone trying to see the world through a letterbox. There she is, again. The small woman who lives in you flits past. Scraping the wallpaper. Sanding the floors. Pinning landscapes and pictures of cottages above her fire.
Another exceptional list story was published in SmokeLong Quarterly, “Shit to Do with a Wedding Dress”.
Now that you’re hooked, here are some other stories you can find online:
I Would Have Written a Story, Except I Had to Hang Out with Richard Brautigan
This post is free, but please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Paid subscribers receive classic flash story models and exercises, unexpected writing tips, as well as $10 off each of my solo workshops in 2024. Paid membership helps to support me in sharing often buried work from writers we love.
I'm enjoying being introduced to the quiet masters of flash...thanks, Meg.
Thank you for highlighting the very talented Angela, Meg. Loved "We Make Our Own Beaches," and looking forward to reading the rest!