The Rumpus

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Essays

Prince Edward Island

This chapter is an excerpt from Karen Babine’s memoir, The Allure of Elsewhere, out May 20, 2025 with Milkweed Editions. I leave Fundy National Park and its unreasonable infestation of black flies under clear skies and brave the grade down to Alma, where the tide was out. I didn’t get…

Fiction

Rumpus Original Fiction: Casserole

He trusted her. He loved her. He was waiting for her to provide.

Poetry

Rumpus Original Poetry: Katherine Tunning

Thoughts well up like that sometimes. / Brief pleasure in watching them blossom, / cutting them off. Today is slow. / I expect tomorrow will be also.

The First Book

The First Book: Veena Dinavahi

Make your own meaning. It sounds cliché, but I’ve come to accept it as a survival skill.

ENOUGH

ENOUGH: The Last Beautiful Day

The day holds so much promise.

Reviews

“Three Initiates”: On Jeanne Thornton’s A/S/L

When Thornton’s characters’ lives on and off screen drastically diverge, A/S/L not only satisfies nostalgia, but catapults the narrative to a whole new level.

Fiction

Rumpus Original Fiction: The Sun Never Sets on the Sunrise Highway

With so little going on, we get to talking. Talk about the past, chitchat to pass the time.

Interviews

The Tightrope Walk of Making Comics: A Conversation with María Medem

I have a love for showing movement and things as they are. I feel very uncomfortable when things are abrupt, especially if the story doesn’t call for it.

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Featured

Comics

Fragments

On Tove Jansson’s Eccentrics and Oddballs

The Rite

more comics

Essays

Home is a Word Unspoken

Pigs Rooting for Truffles

Contra

more Essays

Letters in the Mail from Authors!

Receive letters with creative prompts from some of our favorite authors written just for Rumpus readers and sent straight into your (snail) mailbox 2 x a month!

Fiction

Rumpus Original Fiction: Two Flash Stories by Hyo Jin Ha

Rumpus Original Fiction: Tuesday Morning, Downtown

Rumpus Original Fiction: For the Love of a Body

More Fiction

What to Read When

What to Read When You’re Looking for Romance

What to Read When You’re a True Believer

What to Read When You’re Freaking out About Earthquakes

More Lists

Poetry

National Poetry Month: Hala Alyan

National Poetry Month: Ansel Elkins

National Poetry Month: Julian Talamantez Brolaski

More Poetry

Columns

We Are More: Istanbul

Voices on Addiction: The Shape of Memory

We Are More: Five Poems by Jen Siraganian

More Columns

Reviews

We Must All Transition: Paul B. Preciado’s Dysphoria Mundi

Unfun: Mariah Stovall’s I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both

The Wildness of Grief: Sarah Giragosian’s Mother Octopus

More Reviews

Interviews

The Gifts of a Father’s Schizophrenia: A Conversation with Natasha Williams

The Kingdom of Happy Land: A Conversation with Dolen Perkins-Valdez

“A Here that is Not This”: An Undocupoets Roundtable Conversation

More Interviews

Even more Rumpus

Letters in the mail (from authors)

Receive letters from some of our favorite authors written just for Rumpus readers and sent straight into your (snail) mailbox 2 x a month!

Become a Member!

Become a MONTHLY or ANNUAL RUMPUS MEMBER and receive exclusive content, editorial insights, merch discounts, and more! Annual Members also receive access to submit their work year-round outside of our regular no-fee reading periods. Be a part of building a better Rumpus!

Join today!