Recent posts
Rumpus Articles
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Elle et Elle
“Excluding men and showing only women is a revolutionary gesture of affirmative action. But the museum is avant-garde. It’s part of the Centre Pompidou culture to do things differently. And we like a lot of drama. This is going to be dramatic…
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Elizabeth Wurtzel on the Mental Instability of the Founding Fathers
In “The Pop Culture Clause,” Elizabeth Wurtzel’s essay in the new issue of Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art, Wurtzel asserts that American culture has produced Elvis, blue jeans and the gold rush because the Framers of the Constitution…
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Whatever Happened to the Church of the SubGenius?
Allegedly founded in the 1950’s by J.R. “Bob” Dobbs, the Church of the SubGenius rose to infamy with the publication of SubGenius Pamphlet #1 by Reverend Ivan Stang and Dr. Philo Drummond in 1979. Attempts to classify the organization prove tricky,…
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The Exile and the Nomad Are Cousins: The Rumpus Original Combo with Ana Menendez
Ana Menendez’s new novel, The Last War, deals with Iraq, infidelity, self-deception, and exile.
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How to Break Up with Your Girlfriend in 64 Easy Steps
How I found this video: 1. It’s late-ish Sunday night. 2. I am working on an interview for The Rumpus.
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BAD MOMMY BLOG: Barbie Abuse
So the English University of Bath did a study and found that Barbie abuse is common among girls between 7 and 11. My daughter (4) went through a period of sacrificing babies, but it was short-lived and she hasn’t mutilated…
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A FAN’S NOTES: The Fantasy League
Did you hear about Jack Kerouac’s fantasy baseball habit? Even if you don’t care much for the Beats, it’s still pretty amazing to read about how Kerouac invented his own fantasy baseball league, illustrated his own made-up rosters, and actually…
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Herbert Gold on Saul Bellow, Extracted from Pushcart XXXII
The last few days, I’ve been boxing up some of my books in preparation to donate them to a good cause, about which more will be said when the appropriate time comes. Among these books are nine editions of The…
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Muse Me
“Whatever happened to the Muse? She was once the female figure–deity, Platonic ideal, mistress, lover, wife–whom poets and painters called upon for inspiration.” –Lee Siegel, Where Have All the Muses Gone?, from The Wall Street Journal Below is a shorthand…
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Morning Coffee
A touching memorial to a British TV artist. As it so happens, the reason we haven’t found any evidence of life may be our own dang fault. And as long as we’re linking to New Scientist: Pfizer is giving free…
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The beat goes on – Remembering Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones, one of the most influential jazz drummers, most known for his work with John Coltrane, died this week five years ago, on May 18th, 2004. Adam Mansbach, who is recently well known for his novel Angry White Black…