A Challenge to Publishers: Just Say No to Gonzo
We’d like to introduce you to The Blurb, the Rumpus Books blog. Check this space for frequent posts about the state of our writing culture, our literary community, and the…
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Rumpus Articles
An Apple as Eve
Apple seeds and the parted pages of books, fleshy fingers and bald heads are among the symbols Alexi Worth uses to conjure a sometimes sinister sexuality. In “Head and Shoulders,”…
Oliver Wasow’s Affordable Art
Now that our government has finally conceded that we are in a recession (depression?) it is exciting and lovely to find brilliant artwork that you can actually afford.
The Dead Kennedys Punk Humor
Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde . . . Jello Biafra?! The Dead Kennedys’ acerbic frontman deserves to be placed in such rarefied comedic company by virtue of the three-minute…
Letter from Paris, Part 3: Kissing on Furniture
After kissing on furniture I later learn from Wet is intensely germ-ridden, I followed Antoine up the curving, wrought-iron staircase and out into the street.
Reading in the New Year
Rumpus Books asked dozens of writers what they’ll be reading on New Year’s Day, 2009. Here’s what they said:
Letter from Paris, Part 2: Butch Is Beautiful
All I wanted to do in Paris was have an affair, go to the Louvre, and see the catacombs...
A Rabid Fan of the Novel Revolutionary Road Compares It to the Film
It has come to my attention that you keep adapting my favorite novels [see Atonement, Revolutionary Road, et. al.], and turning them into mediocre movies. Cease and desist! Get your own ideas!
Going to See the Elephant, by Rodes Fishburne
Going to See the Elephant, the debut novel by Rodes Fishburne, is a paean to newspapering and young love, by a writer whose ambition is worn lightly on his sleeve.…
Funny America: THE TOP TEN COMEDIC NEWS STORIES OF 2008
Okay. Just so you know: the Top Ten Comedic News Stories of the Year are as different from the Top Ten Legitimate News Stories of the Year as a tarantula…
Washington Post Books Editor Steps Down
Marie Arana, the longtime editor of The Washington Post’s Book World is stepping down tomorrow. “For 15 years I have had the privilege and honor
The Way I Am, by Eminem
Eminem’s memoir, The Way I Am, borrows its title from his 2000 single about the over-the-top trappings of fame, in which he vents: “I’m racin’, I’m pacin’, I stand and…