A Macro Micro-Memoir Challenge

By Deborah Sosin

Last spring, my friend Holly asked me to write about “A Thing I Can’t Part With” for her miniature zine. Exactly 50 words. “I’m in!” I said. I’ve always loved the challenge of concision and compression in flash prose—I’ve published short essays and a picture book, written a ten-minute play, and performed in a “Moth”-like storytelling event.

I sent Holly a piece about my beloved, bedraggled Teddy bear, the word count a thrilling exercise. So thrilling, I had the crazy id...