The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #103: Andrew Battershill
Picture the French Surrealists recast as mobsters running a crime ring and you have the premise for Batterhill’s story.
...more
Posts by: David Breithaupt
The Rumpus Interview with Clarence Major
Clarence Major discusses his new collection Chicago Heat and Other Stories, the artist’s role in politics, Donald Trump and race relations, and Paris in the good old days.
...more
The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #68: David Kukoff
“To read,” wrote E.M. Cioran, “is to let someone else do the work for you.” Indeed, David Kukoff has done extensive footwork collecting an array of varied experiences to give us an idea of what it was to live in LA during what might arguably be one of its most pivotal decades. His new anthology, […]
...moreHow to Dinner Party Like Dalí
From entre-plats to oral sex in three easy steps! As the iconic artist’s opulent cookbook Les Dîners de Gala is reprinted by Taschen, we assess what it really takes to dine like Dalí. Jake Hall reports for AnOther.com on what it takes to create that perfect surrealistic dinner venue.
...moreHow Books Saved Mary Oliver’s Life
Feeling anxious about today’s election? Brain Pickings gives us a look at how writer Mary Oliver copes when times are tough: The second world—the world of literature—offered me, besides the pleasures of form, the sustentation of empathy (the first step of what Keats called negative capability) and I ran for it. I relaxed in it. I stood […]
...moreAlors, Those French Smell So Good
Osman Ahmed sat down with fragrance maker Timothy Hahn for AnOther.com to discuss his latest installment of literary-inspired luxuries: When Han created a scent inspired by Simone de Beauvoir’s 1938 novel She Came to Stay (or L’Invitée, as it is known en francais) he interpreted the mood of the semi-autobiographical novel that tells the story of Jean-Paul Sartre’s and […]
...moreNever Too Early for Next Year
The power of yarn compels you! The power of yarn compels you! The power of yarn compels you! With Halloween being about the coolest holiday we see all year, you might want to check out this crochet version of The Exorcist to be sure you maintain your Halloween cachet.
...moreGuns Don’t Kill People, Poets Do
Verlaine bought the 7mm six-shooter in Brussels on the morning of 10 July 1873, determined to put an end to a torrid two-year affair with his teenage lover. The gun Paul Verlaine used to wound fellow poet and lover, Arthur Rimbaud, is up for auction. The Guardian reports that the gun could sell for as […]
...more
The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #55: Donald Ray Pollock
Donald Ray Pollock has been steadily serving up plates of mild horror since his first book of short stories, Knockemstiff, appeared in 2008. Pollock followed the explosion of Knockemstiff with The Devil All the Time, in 2011, his first novel, which also bordered on the genre of mystery, again with generous servings of darkness. His […]
...moreThe Other John Reed
Writer John Reed is a genre buster. His new book, Free Boat: Collected Lies and Love Poems, is a collection of sonnets about love scenarios mostly gone amok, which he began sharing on Facebook some time back. Gee Henry interviews Reed for BOMB and inquires about his unique writing projects. For more, check out our interview […]
...moreThe Life and Times of Black Clock Magazine
The legendary Black Clock has been retired. At Lit Hub, novelist Bruce Bauman, author most recently of Broken Sleep, recounts the magazine’s history in a conversation with Jeff VanderMeer: From the very beginning when Jon Wagner had hired Steve to start the magazine, it was clear the vison, the content—all final decisions would be Steve’s. I was […]
...moreCheck out the Latest Trends In “Trashion
Like a perverse turtle, Rob Greenfield wears his trash on his back: Sandwiched between heavy duty plastic sheeting is every wrapper, bag, tissue and twisty tie the environmental activist has accumulated over the past few weeks. His unusual garb is part of an attention-grabbing demonstration. An environmentalist and an artist team up to make a big […]
...moreCanceling Donald Trump
And this isn’t so much about art as it is about using art in the worst way. This is a Pro-Trump rally masquerading as a performance art piece that is as vicious an assault on any progressive political sensibility as it is on the less market-oriented forms of underfunded public art forms: social practice, performance […]
...moreHaving Fall Fun This October
As ever, we’ve a stimulating shortlist to offset the arrival of the cold autumn weather: look no further for the latest in art, film, theatre and restaurant openings. No need to be depressed thinking about winter’s inevitability. Instead, check out this to-do list for the season of mellow fruitfulness from AnOther.
...moreThat Painful Money Subject
Os&1s Reads’s The Art of Commerce talks with Merritt Tierce, author of Love Me Back, about the relationship between writers and money: Publishing is a machine that does what it does. You’re grateful, of course, to have the connection to it, because part of what it does is present your book to thousands and thousands of readers. That’s […]
...moreFake It Til You Make It
Have you ever thought of vanishing into thin air? If so, you’re not alone. For Lit Hub, Elizabeth Greenwood investigates the pros and cons of leaving the world cold: Depending on your budget, you can even stage a phony funeral with mourners weeping over your open casket (a cadaver from a black market morgue as your […]
...moreTaking It to the Street
We had to ask everyone. Not just the people who looked “good” to get money from. And that was great because of course I was surprised by who responded and who didn’t. I feel, in general, in my life at this moment, I’m very aware of how off my preconceptions are, whereas I’ve always thought […]
...moreThe Devil Comes in on Little Cat Feet
At The Coffeelicious, Jonathan Carroll notes that bad news doesn’t always have a loud soundtrack: People always think the devil works loud — Fire! Brimstone! Lightning and thunder on arrival! Here I am — start shaking, Mortal. But the truth is most of that noise is just for show. The real bad stuff arrives in silence.
...moreDon’t Follow the Leader: Tips for the Desert
Hiking for me is meditation if I approach it mindfully. When (my brother) Jim Breithaupt hiked the Huachuca Passage in the Arizona desert with family, he encountered some mishaps along the way. Nothing major—just getting lost and running into smugglers. Read more at Cargo Literary.
...moreWhat Is the Meaning of Life? Ask a Curator
Hrag Vartanian reports on recent curator capers for Hyperallergic: #AskaCurator day was conceived by UK-based Mar Dixon and has been embraced by many museums around the world. Yesterday, to mark the occasion, two well-known art writers (Jörg Colberg in Massachusetts and Carolina Miranda in California) decided to poke fun at the daylong curatorial celebration in their own social media–savvy way.
...moreCan You Judge a Book by Its Soundtrack?
When I’m deep in writing a novel, pretty much every song on the radio or on my phone reminds me of someone from that particular book. Here are some of the ones that consistently came up as embodying certain characters and their situations… Gina Frangello shares a soundtrack for her new novel, Every Kind of Wanting […]
...moreAfter Adderall Meets Columbus, Ohio
Attention all Columbus Ohio residents! Tomorrow night, September 14, at the Gateway Film Center in Columbus, Ohio, there will be a screening of Stephen Elliott’s new film, After Adderall. This is a one-night only event, so be there!
...moreCommunal Bathing Tips Ann Landers Forgot to Give You
Lest you commit a public bathing faux pas, please be aware of the following, from by Maisie Skidmore at AnOther: This September a new exhibition entitled Soak, Steam, Dream: Reinventing Bathing Culture opens at Roca London Gallery, exploring the many and varied ways in which to wash. To celebrate, we bring you five of the unwritten rules of […]
...moreDon’t Throw Away the Pitt
You know when you’re watching a Brad Pitt movie and Brad Pitt is eating food in the movie and you’re not sure which you want more, Brad Pitt or the food? At Hyperallergic, Carey Dunne informs us of the new cookbook inspired by Brad Pitt’s on-screen eating habits.
...moreLet Us Now Praise “Putdownable” Books
We hear enough about page-turner books, but what about those books that are easy to put down? For Book Riot, Brenna Clarke Gray takes another look at books that don’t often get a second look: The unputdownables will power you through a readathon, help you get to your book club on time, and make sure […]
...moreEveryone Has an Opinion
Robert Anton Wilson—spiritualist, prophet, or batshit crazy? At disinfo, Thad McKraken weighs the pros and cons of his one-time idol: I mean, it’s not super tough to diagnose what went wrong with R.A.W. as far as spiritual progress goes. To advance in this capacity, you have to shut off the part of your mind that’s […]
...moreWhoever Has the Most Toys Wins
Randy Knol loves toy dinosaurs. Just how much does he love them? Jackson Landers reports for Smithsonian on this unique and massive collection.
...moreThe Beats Come to Paris (Again)
The French obsession with America popular culture takes form at the Pompidou Center in Paris with relics from the Beat Generation, including the famous 120-foot scroll of Kerouac’s On the Road, in a comprehensive exhibit. Frank Rose reports the details for the New York Times.
...moreMiranda July, Shape Shifter at Large
Whether she’s designing accessories, developing an app, or directing a film, Miranda July’s admirably broad body of work seamlessly bridges the gap between art and life. A brief history of Miranda July, as reported by Olivia Aylmer for AnOther. Just what is this trailblazing, unpredictable woman up to now? Take a look.
...moreSurrealism for Summer
Over at AnOther, Carmen Gray shares five classic surrealist films that you can watch now. Don’t let your summer go blah; feed your head!
...more