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Five Minutes explores five minutes of a life in one hundred words. Five minutes is edited by Susanna Baird, with editorial support from managing editor Maria s. picone, newsletter editor kate meen, and founding reader bobbi lerman, plus our rotating team of guest readers, who you can meet in the latest newsletteR. Five Minutes was founded in October 2020, with the Salem (Mass.)-based writing group Carrot Cake Writers supplying the journal’s first pieces. We’d love to read your five. Submit here. 

Five Minutes One hundred words

Mar 10
Mar 10 Spoon Necklace

Bethany Jarmul

I stroke my late grandmother’s silver spoon, hung around my neck with black ribbon.

Mar 9
Mar 9 Dog Run

Sherri Alms

… I saw Chessie, chair bouncing behind, running up 18th Street …

Mar 8
Mar 8 Sunday Morning

Linda Dreeben

I enter the kitchen through the crackle of bacon and my parents’ anger.

Mar 7
Mar 7 Last Dance

Sarah Barnett

No one else in the hall was in love like we were, not my friends at the table sipping Cinzano, not the DJ, not even the other smooching couples.

Mar 6
Mar 6 Wake Up

Joseph Loux

As the morning fog cleared I realized that my mother was crying.

Mar 3
Mar 3 The Neighbor

Linda Thompson

My mysterious neighbor’s lips curve in a sardonic smile and a single eyebrow rises mockingly when I hand her the bag.

Mar 2
Mar 2 By My Side

Debbie Feit

I wasn’t prepared for the hormone-induced anxiety that accompanied my first pregnancy.

Feb 27
Feb 27 Gin

Jean Buie

He plays gin, without cards and without any other players.

Feb 27
Feb 27 Masquerade

Sophie Kessler

As I stumbled through the prayer book, I thought of my own bat mitzvah.

Feb 27
Feb 27 The Late Shift

Catherine Bourassa

“What are you doing still awake?” followed by “Do you want a snack?”

Feb 24
Feb 24 Hello

Dawn J. Post

“Can I tattoo you?” asks six-year-old Andrew.

Feb 23
Feb 23 Steak

Susan Nordmark

Dad said, Come over honey, I'll cook steaks. He had a new roommate again.

Feb 22
Feb 22 Homeless Vet

Michael Anthony

The coins hit with a clink, clunk, and clang as I tossed them into his can.

Feb 21
Feb 21 Wheelin' About

Donna Williams

Stuck in commuter traffic hell, I went Live on Facebook, jimmy-rigging my phone to the dashboard, offering viewers many minutes of stream-of-consciousness chatter.

Feb 19
Feb 19 Protection

Susan Thompson

“How much is your little angel?” It was the last one in my craft stall, lovingly made with beads and wire.

Feb 17
Feb 17 Teen Crush

Mara Blazic

I barely spoke to him; I imagined that he barely knew who I was.

Feb 16
Feb 16 Hurricane

Eileen Vorbach Collins

It’s a sunny day but the bedroom, its windows still shuttered, is dark and foreboding with a damp, slightly fetid odor.

Feb 15
Feb 15 Likeness

Alison Silverman

My uncle’s friend Alice has sent me an email with old photos attached.

Feb 14
Feb 14 Airborne Hell

A. Zaykova

Who said hell was a burning pit below? My hell is suspended ten kilometers above ground.

Feb 13
Feb 13 Birthday Call

Finnian Burnett

My mother calls at 4:17 p.m. the day before Thanksgiving to tell me I was born 51 years ago today.

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Five Minutes features micro-memoirs, hundred-word pieces about five minutes in a life.
We’d love to read your five. Submit here. 
To receive our monthly newsletter, Five Minutes More, head to Substack!
To receive our weekly digest, containing the week’s stories, email susanna@fiveminutelit.com with the subject line: Digest.

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