“What Every Woman Should Know”
“What Every Woman Should Know” is an illustrated report by Rumpus contributor Susie Cagle “on the war that’s being waged against women’s health in the United States.” Don’t miss it.
...morePosts by: Isaac Fitzgerald
Gabriel García Márquez Sales Are Up in Tehran
Former Iranian prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, who is under house arrest for his opposition of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, recently encouraged his daughter to read Gabriel García Márquez’s News of a Kidnapping to better understand his “situation in captivity.” Since the meeting, word of Mousavi’s book recommendation has “spread quickly across Iran’s huge online community, prompting hundreds of opposition supporters to seek out the book.”
...moreScoring the Good Stuff
“I don’t find it easy. I find it quite messy, an almost permanent state of not knowing what the hell you are trying to do. But it’s quite addictive, like one of those fancy drugs that are very difficult to score, very expensive, but even more difficult to quit.”
Award-winning novelist Mohammed Hanif talks writing with Open.
...morePaging Doctor Nabokov
“Recognizing shared experience, and wanting to, are at the basis of fiction, and the social life fiction feeds on. But psychology should do more than just take these facts for granted: it should help us explain them.”
This essay examines Nabokov as a critic and a writer in relation to psychology.
...moreLA Lit Journal Love
“We want people to have fun and to foster a sense of community in this sprawling, sometimes unfathomable place.”
Rumpus contributor Antonia Crane talks with Joe Donnelly, editor and co-founder of Slake, “a new, Los Angeles-focused literary journal,” for our pals over at ZYZZYVA.
...moreLiao Yiwu’s Escape
“Only by escaping this colossal and invisible prison called China could I write and publish freely. I have the responsibility to let the world know about the real China hidden behind the illusion of an economic boom — a China indifferent to ordinary people’s simmering resentment.”
Novelist Liao Yiwu writes about his decision to leave of China.
...moreSpecial East Coast Hurricane Edition
It’s not as good as extra batteries, but Ben Greenman’s latest graph, “Special East Coast Hurricane Edition,” is pretty great.
...moreA Talk with James
“I really hope I don’t have that responsibility of teaching people how to have sex.”
Salon’s Tracy Clark-Flory talks with prolific male porn star James Deen.
...moreDan Weiss’s Morning Coffee
Morning Coffee editor Dan Weiss is on tour with his band. We will try to make due, but make no promises.
For fans of middle school math and/or Egyptian mysteries: is this the world’s first protractor?
...moreFeministing ♥
Oh-so-rad site Feministing recently called Neelanjana Banerjee’s “Where I Write: A Green Room in Gujarat” essay “really f-ing good.”
Thanks Feministing, we love you back!
...moreDonate to 826DC
Want to help kids discover books, writing, and unleash their imaginations in our nation’s capital? Then we strongly urge you to make a donation to the newest chapter of 826, 826DC, where they are trying to raise $4,130 by July 31st!
...moreGo Wendy!
“When I sit down to work, I keep a small bowl of garlic croutons on my desk. These are little rewards for good ideas and strong lines, Pavlovian pellets to keep my spirits up. Recently, I began to wonder what fuel writers have relied on, and the answers turned out to be all over the culinary map.”
Our very own Wendy MacNaughton’s art and writing are featured in The New York Times Book Review(!).
...moreMeet Ciara
“Ciara, 20, earned $8,000 one week, half of which she gets to keep. She supports her boyfriend, who has cancer, and his mother.”
The LA Weekly delves into the world of women who do sex work to support their families.
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The Sexual Lives of Missionaries
“There were big ones and small ones and medium-sized ones, blonde and brunette, and even bald ones…”
Guernica has published an excerpt from Rumpus contributor Kyle Minor’s forthcoming novel, The Sexual Lives of Missionaries. Enjoy.
...more“My Ex-Gay Friend”
“…Michael was fast becoming the leading voice for gay youth until the day, in July 2007, when he announced that he was no longer gay.”
Benoit Denizet-Lewis sits down and talks with his “ex-gay friend,” Michael Glatze.
...moreThe Rumpus on NPR’s Talk of the Nation
Yesterday evening, Poetry Editor Brian Spears was interviewed by Talk of the Nation’s Neal Conan about the issue of male privilege and his article on the Amina Affar scandal. The audio and a transcript are available here. Love you Talk of the Nation!
...moreProbably Good Picks
Editors at the NYT Book Review share which titles they plan on tackling this summer.
...moreAtlantic ♥
Atlantic senior editor Ta-Nehisi Coates calls Alex Gallo-Brown’s recent “Where I Write” essay “awesome sauce.” Thanks Coates, we love you back!
Update: You can read our interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates here.
...more“Freewheeling Essays, to Be Consumed With a Cocktail”
“The excellent thing about Between Parentheses is how thoroughly it dispels any incense or stale reverence in the air. It’s a loud, greasy, unkempt thing.”
Dwight Garner at The New York Times reviews Between Parentheses, a collection of Roberto Bolaño’s essays, articles and speeches.
...moreBye Bye, Boss
“Jesus spent three days in Hell. … I could only handle one.”
Jack Shafer has published a collection of what “fired or resigned journalists wrote to their bosses on the way out” (the quote above is from Richard Morgan, “who quit Gawker.com after one day” in January 2008).
...more