That Old Philogelos—Up To His Old Tricks!
Classicist Mary Beard has discovered a joke book from the 4th century AD, filled with rib-ticklers from the late Roman Empire. Just like today, the old egghead is a source…
Recent posts
Rumpus Articles
Border War Goes Both Ways
Last year, my pal James Verini wrote an extensive piece in Portfolio about the problem — and related policy hypocrisy — that allows the entire discussion of “border protection” to…
A Tree Grows in Detroit
If you thought there was an odd brilliance in Steven Soderberg setting Out of Sight‘s stirring first love scene against snow settling over the ruins of Detroit, and that Robert…
Show Your Work!
Matthew Zapruder proposes we meet the current explosion of variety coursing through contemporary poetry head-on with a new kind of criticism. Zapruder wants critics to talk a little less about…
The Ground Beneath Their Feet
Aaron Gwyn’s novel describes a world in which people can fall through the surface of the earth and be snatched by a mythological creature, never to be heard from again.
It’s No Bullshit!
Although George Carlin is renowned for his standup comedy, a career more prolific than that of any other modern practitioner of the form, he had some fascinating detours along the…
Bravery, Panties, and Devil’s Tower: The Rumpus Interview with Laurel Nakadate
Laurel Nakadate is a photographer and filmmaker from New York City.
American Short Stories
A.O. Scott gives a nice shout out to the craft of American short stories in the New York Times, particularly praising, Flannery O’Connor, John Cheever, and Donald Barthelme. For more…
Hansi, the Girl Who Loved the Swastika
Spire Christian Comics was an old comics company that, like many other publishers (including Marvel, in its early years), was distributed and printed by a larger company. Archie Comics, the…