Recent posts
Rumpus Articles
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The Rumpus Interview with Sam Anderson
“An ideal, awesome job,”—that’s how Sam Anderson, at several points in our conversation, describes his position as book critic for New York Magazine.
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Morning Coffee
“In 1873, they reunited in Brussels, but it took only two days before Verlaine bought a gun and got drunk and shot Rimbaud in the wrist.” LA Times on famous literary feuds. Terrastories brings you the only known pictures inside…
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Richard Nash’s Next Venture
“Soft Skull began at a Kinko’s in 1993 courtesy of Adobe and Xerox. It started with fewer resources and far less maturity and experience than, say, Seven Stories, Arcade, Manic D or New Press. But we all benefited from the…
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Bait and Switch
Like a well-planned itinerary, the blueprints of James Lasdun’s stories are thoughtfully delineated, and each step feels purposeful and sure.
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The Rise of the Cover
Some people think cover songs are for people who don’t like music; I happen to see them as heart-warming love letters from adoring fans, and at their greatest, revealing other aspects the song didn’t even know it had. Stephen Elliott…
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Dave Eggers: The Last Book I Loved, Destiny Disrupted
I’m in the middle of Tamim Ansary’s Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes, and it’s incredibly illuminating. Ansary pretty much covers the entire history of Islam in an incredibly readable and lucid way. I’ve been recommending this…
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William Shatner Reads Sarah Palin’s Farewell Speech
When Sarah Palin gave this speech, it was a disjointed mumble of insanity. When William Shatner performs it, it’s strangely beautiful. The bongos might have something to do with it.
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An Ugly Policy from American Apparel
A “pissed-off American Apparel store manager” has blown the whistle on Dov Charney’s latest business strategy. It seems the CEO “is demanding the firing of employees he deems unattractive and thus detrimental to the ‘AA aesthetic,’ as he feels they…
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The Perfect Murder Weapon
George knew a lot about murder weapons and the many ways people could get killed.
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Time is Real!
Not too long ago I reviewed a movie called The Examined Life, by director Astra Taylor, which featured ninety minutes of fascinating, exhilarating discussions with eight contemporary philosophers. The film left me hungry for more, and recently The New Press…
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Was Re: Skinny Jeans
“Every semester that I teach my underground music course, I ask my students what they think the word ‘indie’ means, and somebody inevitably gives the same answer: skinny pants. I want to come clean here and tell everyone that I…