"As soon as the fishtailing started, I latched onto the first glowing thing I saw: a Waffle House sign, like a beacon in the storm." Love, addiction, friendship, & Waffle House. Magnificent new #fiction from Colin Bishoff | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/coli...

"I only stood back minting what currency I could from ruin" Two singularly breathtaking new #poems from Mark Dunbar | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/mark-...

"Her memory is increasingly selective and her world view set to outrage." Boundaries, grief, & family, beautifully writ in this new #longread #fiction from John Wegner | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/john...

"...Word meets wood as custom typographical designs of individual poems are then burned by hand into bespoke pieces of wood..." Stop, drop, & roll on over to this month's spectacular Art & Hybrid Gallery featuring the vibrant Haiku Pyrography of Brasswax | www.doesithavepockets.com/artandhybrid...

Brasswax | August 2026 — Does It Have Pockets

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"We fueled each other’s best and worst. He was neurotic. I drank too much." An elegy for a lost friend with a complicated legacy, profoundly & delicately wrought by Thomas Phalen | www.doesithavepockets.com/cnf/thomas-p...

"Please believe me when I write that I love more than what I’ve lost" A meditation on color & a note to Justin Bieber, wrapped in two fantastic poems from Matt Zambito | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/matt-...

"On November 7, 1995, a tropical cyclone formed in the monsoon trough of the Bay of Bengal." Tense, dynamic, poignant new creative nonfiction from Nicole Irizawa, new for August | www.doesithavepockets.com/cnf/nicole-i...

"When I’m in the hospital in labor, she perches on the bed shouting through her megaphone: “Gimme a push! A push! A P-U-S-H.”" Two dynamic & shimmery flash #fictions, new from DIHP alum @claudiamonpere.bsky.social | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/clau...

"Picture me frothing at the farmhouse sink" Two cinematic & vibrant new #poems from Isabel Galupo | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/isabe...

"My first memory of my sister is watching her in Mother’s lap." An exquisite translation of the incredible "Silky Smooth" by Anita Harag from Walter Burgess & Marietta Morry | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/hara...

'"I’ll give you a nametag that reads “greasy little shit” so everyone knows what kind of baggage you’re holding." Two innovative, gut-punch #poems from @mle-dress.bsky.social -- new for August | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/emily...

"He looked once over his shoulder at the adults. Not panic. Inventory." Riveting and poignant, don't miss this new #fiction from @brandonmcneice.bsky.social | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/bran...

"....when they were sure I was asleep one night I pushed through the cigarette smoke that folded onto itself in blue curtains" Two powerful, transformative new poems from William Faller | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/willi...

"“Why do we have to make the six-hour drive when they hate us?”" Food, family, & grief, gorgeously folded in to this new #flashfiction from @lkardos.bsky.social | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/laur...

"Clean again, your skin glows like a newborn’s; your head is a friendly bald egg." Two bright, achingly beautiful prose #poems, new from Kathleen McGookey | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/kathl...

"Most of my customers are like her, who think death is a dirty word, who think one should not have to choose to be buried or burned." Don't miss this bright, immersive flash fiction, new for August from @j4prez.bsky.social | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/yi-j...

"Familial trauma furnished the construction materials for my cabin of creative writing..." An epic creative nonfiction/poetry hybrid from @gdgrossman.bsky.social -- a retrospective on Covid, writing, and much more | www.doesithavepockets.com/cnf/gary-gro...

"like you and I rushing into a mortgage or that marathon we never trained for" New for August, two sparkling, layered #poems from @mcdolan.bsky.social | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/chris...

Don't miss our fantastic, wide-ranging chat w/ the wonderful Eileen Toomey about her new chapbook, *How to Make an Espresso Martini* whose title story first appeared here at DIHP! www.doesithavepockets.com/features/e-t...

A Conversation with Eileen Toomey — Does It Have Pockets

I’ve been sharing Eileen Toomey’s wonderful “How to Make an Espresso Martini” creative nonfiction, which first appeared here at DIHP, for over a year, and it has become a signature guide for me, my si...

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We're beyond excited to have the chance to sit down with @lizdebeerwriter.bsky.social to chat about her new book, "Farewell to Emptiness." Join us for some conversation & a few bonus stories. <3 #literarycommunity www.doesithavepockets.com/features/l-d...

A Conversation with Liz deBeer — Does It Have Pockets

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Our "vacation" is done! Time for more submissions: www.doesithavepockets.com/subs #litmags #literarycommunity

Listen, friends. I mean this literally! This superlative new epistle/list hybrid #CNF from @christielauryn.bsky.social has its own playlist. Pour yourself a cup & really spend some time with this one if you can. <3 www.doesithavepockets.com/cnf/christie...

"For a while you look too, until he turns his head just enough to let you know that he’d like you to stop." A masterclass in tension & nuance, don't miss this poignant new #fiction from Susannah Rigg | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/susa...

"I bargain with my reflection" Two serenely abyssal #poems from Lindsay B. Sears, new for July | Ihttps://www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/lindsay-b-sears

"One night we sat next to each other in silence for almost two hours. It should have been okay, but it wasn’t." This month's #longread #fiction is a #mustread powerhouse, new from Marc Kaufman| www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/marc...

"I was often jealous, back then, of the girls he brought flowers to, the girls with painted nails," Cherished DIHP alum Tyler Lemley @tylerlemley1.bsky.social returns with two utterly exquisite new #poems for July | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/tyler...

"608-315-5408 Haha, no, not a scam. I just wanted to know how you were doing. You seem nice. (Sent: 11:55 PM; Read: 11:56 PM)" A poignant study in loneliness & technology in this tremendous new #fiction from Zach Shea | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/zach...

"If you’re reading this, it’s because you have been taken in by The Girl and her mother who are mourning the loss of me." A gorgeous love song to our very best friends in this new #fiction from Karen Zlotnick | www.doesithavepockets.com/fiction/kare...

"I cling to the material/ to my binding habits/ unnecessary/ yet too tightly held/ to let go/" Two #poems on time and tide, new for July from Ann Weil | www.doesithavepockets.com/poetry/ann-w...

"So you learn that on the days when you walk less softly and carry a small stick, people magically sort themselves into three groups." New #creativenonfiction from DIHP Alum @ellennotbohm.bsky.social full of wit & packed with wisdom | www.doesithavepockets.com/cnf/ellen-no...