Pinchy is a Vibe

Each new group of creative writing MFA students at the University of Memphis is asked to read the most recent issue of Pinch and to formulate a definition of what it means to be pinchy. Enjoy these excerpts from our Fall 2025 cohort.

“To be Pinchy is to be irreverent, to push back against the mob mentality, and, most of all, to write about it, document it, list it, engage it, and talk back—to be born standing up. It is a certain universal truth that Pinch (not so silently) advocates for what all too often are: silenced voices.”

“Pinchyness is a story with a unique perspective of a mundane situation; it is an interesting piece that grabs you and stays with you throughout your day.”

“The pinch on your arm means no harm, It’s just a warming of our thin skins, like livewires, sparking in the darling night. Beware It betokens the swarming, of words, or a warning of what’s to come, wants to come. Wasps & images, innuendo’s form & cost— crescendo of cursing & loss. Mad-dogging. Now, pick up your pen, kin, start writing.”

“And what does it mean to be Pinchy? In one word, unadulterated. In many words, it is a work that hammers, strikes, and pinches a reader.”

“It’s elusive and sometimes takes you a bit off the beaten path but is always inspiring. It makes you think of the world, and your place in. It is diverse in form, and in content, in craft, and in narrative. “

“Pinch and her works are not eccentric for the sole purpose of achieving uniqueness to the point of triteness, but rather with precise intention and narrative purpose. Pinch is real life, pinchy is the 180-degree turn required to communicate that reality in a refreshing and poignantly unconventional way.”

“Pieces that are Pinchy will be unique in their own ways. They grab the attention of a reader, not always due to first line hooks but due to being particularly thought provoking in their content and themes. “

“It is to be stylistically innovative and to push against the readily accepted definitions of literary genre. To be Pinchy is to be weird, unapologetic, and sometimes irreverent. Is it plots that go sideways, poems that tell a story, and endings that are unexpected.”

“Pinchy can mean many different things, but for me, it means stories that stick with you, that make you want to reread and contemplate the story.”