A good friend of mine had a special method for remembering his good ideas. Whenever brilliance struck, he snatched it from the air like a fly was buzzing his head, stuffed it in his pants and said, “Let me put this in my pocket for later.” And when he forgot his thought, he’d reach back into his pocket and pull it out again. It was a clever trick to help him keep track of lost loves.

I’ve tried this method before with varying success, but the sentiment remained the same: any lost thought could always be found again if you kept it close.  

I started Pocket Book Lit as a way to help me keep track of worldly observations, although most of that this year has been done from the comfort of my couch. But even the narrow worldview of a window has its intricacies and stories to tell: flowers crying after rainstorms, neighbors sharing sugar and secrets, a stray cat with a bone to pick. This past year has been all about the little victories, small enough to take with us so we can pull them out when we need to be reminded of something good. I believe field expert Natasha Bedingfield called it a “pocketful of sunshine.”  

So yes, the theme of these anthologies is “pockets,” but it’s also a metaphor. For what? I’m not sure. It’s up for interpretation. 

I hope these stories provide some form of escape for you or remind you to check your pockets for your keys before you leave the house today. I’ve kept the stories short because it’s trendy, but also because I am lazy. This is the first issue of (hopefully) many, but I make no promises and certainly no deadlines. This is not a side hustle, mom: it’s who I really am! 

And now this foreword is officially longer than most of the stories in this issue, so I’ll stop being so out of pocket. Read at your own pace (and risk).  

With love and discretion, 

Zach.

contributors

zach kobrin, author

Zach Kobrin is the creator of Pocket Book Lit. He loves a good identity crisis, warm soups on a hot day, and spiral staircases. He recently just learned the color chartreuse is a shade of green. Who knew?

marissa michaels, illustrator

Marissa Michaels is a part-time illustrator and full-time advertising strategist in NYC. She loves trying new design and animation styles, playing tic tac toe with her cat, and training to beat her personal sleep record of 16 hours.

Check our Marissa’s art on Instagram, and shop her art on Society6 or Redbubble

hannah kobrin, editor

Hannah Kobrin is a peanut with antlers (formerly).