2011
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How Did Albert Camus Really Die?
There is a new theory displacing the old view of Albert Camus’ death by car crash. The French philosopher, author and Nobel Prize winner was traveling with his publisher, Michel Gallimard, when they crashed into a tree in 1960, with…
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Slashed Narcissi, Drilled Stone
In physics terms, the poetry world is underground “all the way down,” so Influence lurks in each sea cave like a bastard eel, recharging in darkness, awaiting his next dinner with flickering impatience and slaverous hunger.
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Dan Weiss’s Morning Coffee
Who’s laughing now? Another reason to spare that spider’s life. It’s our moon–why wouldn’t we use it as a trash can? Spoon and chopsticks breed beautifully.
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The Rumpus Poetry Book Club Chat with Lea Graham
The Rumpus Poetry Book Club chats with Lea Graham about her collection Hough & Helix & Where & Here & You, You, You This is an edited transcript of the Poetry Book Club discussion with Lea Graham. Every month The…
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The Rumpus Book Club Interviews Christopher Boucher
The Rumpus Book Club talks to Christopher Boucher about his debut novel How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, a decade’s worth of writing,
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Name That Accent
You know that accent you hear in old films from the 30s and 40s that’s “not faux-British, but it’s a particular kind of lah-dee-dah American diction?” This piece ponders the prevalence and subsequent demise of that particular sound—apparently known as…
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On Luminarium
Alex Shakar, author of Luminarium—this month’s Rumpus Book Club selection—is interviewed at Bomblog. Topics addressed include the author’s take on technology and science, spirituality and the sacred, as well as the concepts of entertainment, and the city that come through…
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Letter Writers
All hacking aside, are we not all snoopers? This interview with Jonathan Keates tackles “great letter writers”—Lord Byron, Stendhal, Queen Victoria, Henry James, Evelyn Waugh—and the legacy of their correspondences. He also ruminates on the death of “the letter as…
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Erin Rose’s Tech Links
Scientists have developed a straw that detects the date rape drug in yr drink. All’s fair in tech and war: Apple has gotten the Samsung Galaxy Tab blocked in Europe. Yep, the building blocks of DNA probably came from space.…
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London Riots Roundup
Riots have been going on for three days now in London following the killing by police of Mark Duggan. You can follow the Guardian’s coverage here, but here are a few other stories as well. Prime Minister David Cameron pledged…
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A Call for Sad Submissions
Sad Stuff on the Street is having its half birthday and like responsible purveyors of modern gloom, they are imploring you to submit on this half-celebratory occasion. If you’re keeping your eyes open you may just find a one-armed teddy…