Posts by author
Brian Spears
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About That Kenny Goldsmith Piece in the New Yorker
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 if you define even-handed as a several-thousand word tongue-bath in the…
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Yellowface in Poetry
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 Chou. I’m not here to talk about the poem, or…
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The Rumpus Book Club Presents… (With a Special Offer)
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 of the Rumpus Tote Bag or the Rumpus Quotes Mug! This…
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Coming in April from The Rumpus Book Clubs
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. (Also, a book club subscription makes a great gift. Seriously.)…
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The Rumpus Book Club Chat with Ottessa Moshfegh
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.
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Miller Williams, 1930-2015
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 I remember my voice shaking as I introduced myself to…
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Up Next in the Rumpus Book Clubs
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 readers have a terrific track record of selecting truly amazing…
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The Last Poem I Loved: “Let me tell you” by Miller Williams
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.
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The Poet’s Journey
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 to relive it as a piece, here are links to…
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The Payton James Freeman Essay Prize
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 let us take a look at your work. The Freeman…
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The Case for Reparations
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 expands the conversation surrounding this topic in two ways. The…