The Gift of Education

“Now Valentino’s school is beginning to operate in the town of Marial Bai — a modern high school serving students from thousands of square miles. It had a soft opening earlier this year with 100 students, and he is hoping to increase to 450 students in the coming months — but that means dizzying challenges.”

Nicholas Kristof‘s recent op-ed in the New York Times focuses on the work of Valentino Deng, the central figure in What Is the What, and the new school he has opened up in Sudan. At the risk of getting too “‘tis the season” for you, the piece is an uplifting and inspiring holiday read.

Share
Tweet
Share

Isaac Fitzgerald has been a firefighter, worked on a boat, and was once given a sword by a king, thereby accomplishing three out of five of his childhood goals. Formerly of The Rumpus and McSweeney’s and most recently the founding editor of BuzzFeed Books, Isaac is now the co-host of BuzzFeed News’ Twitter Morning Show, #AMtoDM. He also appears frequently on The Today Show to talk books, and is co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (with Recipes) (winner of an IACP award), and the author of a YA novel and picture book forthcoming from Bloomsbury. He uses Twitter.

You May Also Like

The Rumpus publishes original fiction, poetry, literary humor writing, comics, essays, book reviews, and interviews with authors and artists of all kinds. Our mostly volunteer-run magazine strives to be a platform for risk-taking voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere. We lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers our readers may already know and love. We want to bring new perspectives into the conversation that will make us all look deeper.

We believe that literature builds community—and if reading The Rumpus makes you feel more connected, please show your support! Get your Rumpus merch in our online store. Subscribe to receive Letters in the Mail from authors, join us by becoming a monthly or yearly Member and/or make a tax-deductible donation here.

We support independent bookstores! 10% of sales on any titles purchased through our Bookshop.org page or affiliate links benefits the magazine.

The Rumpus in your Inbox!
The Rumpus
© 2023, The Rumpus.

The Rumpus needs your help. We need to raise $25,000 $10,000 to fill our funding gap for 2024.

Our home base is Asheville, NC and Hurricane Helene severely impacted our ability to host events, launch new initiatives, and caused other significant financial setbacks this fall.

Can you support us at any level by Dec. 31? Every dollar counts and is a sign that our readers collectively value creative labor and independent publishing.

YEs, I'd like to help!

Sign up for the weekly Rumpus

Once a week, we'll send you a roundup of what's new on the magazine, invites to upcoming events, open calls for submissions, and more!

Total
0
Share