Recent posts
Rumpus Articles
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Scrawl Girl
What does it mean to draw outside the lines? Allison Benis White sketches it out in Self-Portrait with Crayon.
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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 of tremendous humor, along with other frequently targeted figures of…
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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 be exclusively focused on the drugs coming in (along with…
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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 Polidori’s large-format photos of Havana’s faded glory were as beautiful…
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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 what the poem said and a little more about how…
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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.
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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 way. He was Mr. Conductor in the old Shining Time…
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Mr. J.D.
Once again a journalist turns up at J.D. Salinger’s house, and once again gets turned away. In Japan — not being in easy driving distance of Cornish, NH — they must turn to Blankey Jet City’s song “Salinger,” with its…
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Bravery, Panties, and Devil’s Tower: The Rumpus Interview with Laurel Nakadate
Laurel Nakadate is a photographer and filmmaker from New York City.
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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 on Cheever, Slate ran a review of his newest biography.…