Posts by author
Kelly Opdycke
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(Forcibly) Leaving Home Behind
In an essay from High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing, retired city worker and community organizer Dolores Wilson recalls the heartbreaking process she faced after being relocated from her soon-to-be demolished public housing high rise.
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No More MPDG!
Continuing yesterday’s conversation on gender in writing, Ester Bloom explores the rare success of men writing women outside of the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” (MPDG) box. Ester is looking for raw, vital, and tragic female characters, traits that she feels…
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Syrians United Through Poetry
In a country where censorship prevents many from saying what they feel, a new type of Syrian poetry is now being chanted in the streets and shared through social media. The poetry shows a “newfound emphasis on a united Syrian…
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A Novel for Selfie Enthusiasts
HOUSEFIRE Books has released a collaborative novel called SELFIES. The novel “is an interactive multimedia project and conceptual performance piece designed to unfold a shared story of contemporary loneliness.” Read the first seven chapters here.
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A Stroll with Murakami
In his new essay, Haruki Murakami took a break from marathon running to enjoy a leisurely stroll around Ashiya, an earthquake-damaged place he once called his hometown. He finds a town scarred by natural disaster, a town he wrestles to…
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Elizabeth Minkel’s “Racetrack Diary”
No stranger to writing about sports, The Millions’ Elizabeth Minkel’s latest work was inspired by her summer job working at a horse racetrack in upstate New York. In the final essay for her “Racetrack Diary” column, she writes about the…
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Fear of Flying Anniversary
Fear of Flying marks its fortieth anniversary this year. The book’s portrayal of feminine sexuality is recognized as a key part of second wave feminism. Writer Natasha Vargas Cooper tells of her connection to the classic novel.
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Interview with Katie Kitamura
It’s as insulting to men as it is to women…Writing can’t be gendered in that way. In an interview about her latest book (Gone to the Forest), Katie Kitamura discusses her frustrations with the idea of masculine versus feminine writing.
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The Essence of Housesitting
Writer and dog bite victim Brian Blanchfield’s essay “On Housesitting” has successfully captured the essence of a job that mainly involves “passing keys, leaving notes,” and covering “all traces of yourself.”
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The Beauty of First Lines
The first installment of Granta’s new series asks authors to revisit the first lines of their stories and writer Miroslav Penkov discusses his story ‘Blood Money.’ In regards to first lines, he says, “You shine the light precisely on what…
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Fight for Freedom of Expression
In the new book Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight of Muslim Fundamentalism, Karima Bennoune writes about the dangerous struggle some Muslims face for freedom of expression. In this except, read about a group of Pakistani…
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The Gram Parsons Room
Rumpus contributor Rob Roberge provides us with some history on why the Gram Parsons Room (#8 if you’d like to know) at The Joshua Tree Inn is such a popular tourist stop. Quite timely, actually, as the 40th anniversary of…