Recent posts
Rumpus Articles
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The Danger of Law Enforcement Puritans
This is the face of the new witch hunter–Jim Plowman, the Loudon County VA Commonwealth’s attorney, who tried to prosecute an educator for possession of child porn when the educator was just trying to do his job.
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A New Babel
These poems by Kazim Ali are gorgeous, each phrase a breath of prayer, the words presented as humbling offerings, each one a deep bow.
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Saturday Morning Links
It’s still morning somewhere right? Late night equals late start. More goodness from The TED Conference–this time, it’s an interface that allows you to put a screen wherever you need one. You need to see the video to truly appreciate…
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Amy Letter: A Poem I Love
The last poem I loved is “Strongly Scented Sonnet” by Rhoda Janzen. It’s vivid and perverse, a bit disgusting, yet the most palpably romantic poem I have ever read. A woman, for her lover, tucks an apple into “the nest…
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In the Art Rags
Despite–or maybe to spite–bitter winds, spring is in the air. The art world and its rags are responding in kind. In Oslo, rabbits are about to do funny things with humans. Vartan Avakian investigates his (heroic!?) namesake for Bidoun. With…
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Paterson’s Great Falls, inspiration for writers, named national park
President Barack Obama signed legislation on Monday naming the Great Falls on the Passaic River in Paterson, N.J. a national historic park. The 77-foot falls, site of early American industrial plants, has also inspired American writers. The great 20th century…
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Copula Mori
Just getting around to reading Wired’s recap on the Gaussian Copula, or the formula that destroyed the world banking system. Or, really, the formula that allowed the world banking system to destroy itself. The GC, as I like to call…
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Written on the City
Conceptual artist and poet Jenny Holzer is known for her massive projections of poetry and political aphorisms across urban buildings around the world. Her words, cast in ephemeral light, slide along uneven facades, highlighting their form just as the form…