The Rumpus
  • My Account
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Comics
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • The First Book
    • Reviews
    • Themed Months
    • What to Read When
  • Columns
    • Beyond the Page
    • Close Reads
    • Collaborative Criticism
    • ENOUGH
    • Funny Women
    • Parallel Practice
    • Voices on Addiction
    • We Are More
    • Conversations With Writers Braver Than Me
    • Dear Sugar
    • Roxane Gay
    • All Columns
  • Store
  • Prize
  • Rumpus Membership
  • Merch
  • Letters in the Mail
  • Bonfire Merch
  • My Account
Become a MemberDonate
Become a Member Donate
The Rumpus
The Rumpus The Rumpus
  • My Account
  • Essays
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Comics
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • The First Book
    • Reviews
    • Themed Months
    • What to Read When
  • Columns
    • Beyond the Page
    • Close Reads
    • Collaborative Criticism
    • ENOUGH
    • Funny Women
    • Parallel Practice
    • Voices on Addiction
    • We Are More
    • Conversations With Writers Braver Than Me
    • Dear Sugar
    • Roxane Gay
    • All Columns
  • Store
  • Prize
0

Posts by author

Brian Spears

912 posts
Brian Spears is Senior Poetry Editor of The Rumpus and the author of A Witness in Exile (Louisiana Literature Press, 2011). His poem “Upon Reading That Andromeda Will One Day Devour Triangulum and Come For Us Next” was featured in Season 9 of Motion Poems.
  • Poetry

About That Kenny Goldsmith Piece in the New Yorker

  • Brian Spears
  • October 5, 2015
We ran a blog post earlier today about Alec Wilkinson’s pretty crap piece about Kenny Goldsmith in the New Yorker which we characterized as “refreshingly even-handed.” That description is only accurate…
Read
  • Poetry

Yellowface in Poetry

  • Brian Spears
  • September 7, 2015
There’s a storm in the poetry world, this one set off by the bio in Best American Poetry 2015 of Michael Derrick Hudson, who has been publishing under the name Yi-Fen…
Read
  • Book Club Blog

The Rumpus Book Club Presents… (With a Special Offer)

  • Brian Spears
  • August 6, 2015
There’s never been a better time to join The Rumpus Book Club, either by the month or by the year. If you join now, we’ll throw in a bonus: your choice…
Read
  • Poetry

National Poetry Month Day 21: Emoji Poem by Jenny Browne, Translations by Carrie Fountain and Michele Battiste

  • Brian Spears
  • April 21, 2015
Emoji Poem
Read
  • Book Club Blog
  • Poetry

Coming in April from The Rumpus Book Clubs

  • Brian Spears
  • March 19, 2015
We’re very excited about our selections for April, and we hope that you will be as well. Maybe so excited that if you aren’t a member yet, you’ll become one.…
Read
Read
  • Book Club Blog
  • Rumpus Original

The Rumpus Book Club Chat with Ottessa Moshfegh

  • Brian Spears
  • January 8, 2015
Ottessa Moshfegh talks about her book McGlue, inventing a character from an 1850s newspaper article, and revisiting her work years after she finished writing it.
Read
  • Poetry

Miller Williams, 1930-2015

  • Brian Spears
  • January 2, 2015
Poet Miller Williams has died at the age of 84. I only knew him as a teacher—he’s the reason I went to the University of Arkansas for my MFA, and…
Read
  • Book Club Blog

Up Next in the Rumpus Book Clubs

  • Brian Spears
  • December 2, 2014
There’s still time to get the December selections if you join either (or both!) the Rumpus Book and Poetry Book Clubs. What makes our book clubs special? Well, our first…
Read
  • Last Book I Loved
  • Poetry
  • Rumpus Original

The Last Poem I Loved: “Let me tell you” by Miller Williams

  • Brian Spears
  • November 11, 2014
They don’t usually realize that every line, every word of a poem, is there because the poet consciously chose that word instead of some other one.
Read
  • Poetry

The Poet’s Journey

  • Brian Spears
  • September 9, 2014
Back on March 25th, David Biespiel started a project he titled “The Poet’s Journey.” Now, after over 5 months, the journey is coming to an end. But if you want…
Read
  • Other

The Payton James Freeman Essay Prize

  • Brian Spears
  • May 27, 2014
We at The Rumpus are proud to be a part of this essay contest. Please take a look at the submission requirements (note the lack of an entry fee!) and…
Read
  • Other

The Case for Reparations

  • Brian Spears
  • May 22, 2014
The latest issue of The Atlantic Monthly  just went live, and the feature story by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a monster. It’s about making the moral case for reparations, but it…
Read

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 76 Next
Become a Member!

BECOME A MONTHLY OR ANNUAL RUMPUS MEMBER AND RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE CONTENT, EDITORIAL INSIGHTS, MERCH DISCOUNTS, AND MORE! OUR GOAL IS TO REACH AT LEAST 600 MEMBERS BY THE END OF 2025 TO COVER OUR BASIC OPERATING COSTS.

Join today!
COMMUNITY SUPPORT KEEPS THE MAGAZINE GOING!

Founded in 2009, The Rumpus is one of the longest-running online literary magazines around. We’ve been independent from the start, which means we’re not connected with any academic institution, wealthy benefactor, or part of a larger publishing company. The vast majority of the magazine’s funding comes from reader support.

In other words, we can’t survive without YOU!

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation
Letters in the mail (from authors)

Receive letters from some of our favorite authors written just for Rumpus readers and sent straight into your (snail) mailbox 2x a month!

sign up now!

Keep in Touch

The Rumpus publishes original fiction, poetry, literary humor writing, comics, essays, book reviews, and interviews with authors and artists of all kinds. Our mostly volunteer-run magazine strives to be a platform for risk-taking voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere. We lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers our readers may already know and love. We want to bring new perspectives into the conversation that will make us all look deeper.

We believe that literature builds community—and if reading The Rumpus makes you feel more connected, please show your support! Get your Rumpus merch in our online store. Subscribe to receive Letters in the Mail from authors or join us by becoming a monthly or yearly Member.

We support independent bookstores! 10% of sales on any titles purchased through our Bookshop.org page or affiliate links benefits the magazine.

The Rumpus in your Inbox!
The Rumpus
  • Team
  • About & Writers’ Guidelines
  • Advertise
  • TOS and Privacy Policy
© 2025, The Rumpus.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.