Posts by author
Lauren O’Neal
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The Literary Legacy of Ursula K. Le Guin
At Bookslut, Julie Phillips writes about how Ursula K. Le Guin, who has worked largely in science-fiction and fantasy, deserves a place in the literary canon. Her work is shaped by the books of Italo Calvino and Virginia Woolf, and…
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The Truth About Scientology
I’ve always known that people were curious about the church, but I wish they’d take the time to understand a little more about why people join and what they get out of it, instead of just writing it off as…
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Best “Best Books of 2012” List of 2012
By now, you’ve probably seen plenty end-of-the-year reading suggestions, but have you seen Rumpus essays editor Roxane Gay’s end-of-the-year reading suggestions? It’s huge and rambling and dominated by women and divided into categories like “Books not normally in my wheelhouse that…
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Followup: Beyond Dora
In response to the New York Times‘ article about the lack of Latino characters in children’s literature, Aurora Anaya-Cerda, owner of East Harlem bookstore La Casa Azul, compiled a list of books that do feature Latinos. They range from elementary-level storybooks to…
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Weekend Rumpus Roundup
How did you spend your weekend? Curled up with The Rumpus? If not, here’s what you’ll want to catch up on: It is not an exaggeration to say that Lauren Becker’s essay “Safety” is one of the scariest things you’ll…
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Three Cheers for Lit Mags!
And three cheers for LaTanya McQueen’s paean to them on The Missouri Review‘s blog. Her description of losing hours in bookstores among copies of Tin House and Conjunction will no doubt ring true to many of you: We’d come to a story we…
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Re-examining the “Dysfunctional Pleasure” of Eating Disorders
That the Ironman participant may be as vain or as emotionally distressed as a freely directed exerciser becomes irrelevant, because the Ironman race, like a Thanksgiving feast, takes place in the presence of many others pursuing the same extreme pleasure. It…
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Repeal Day, Writer Style
Today marks the 79th anniversary of the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment, which prohibited alcohol. In other words, on this day in 1933, booze became legal once more in the United States. Lift a glass with these pairings of…
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Happy Birthday, Joan Didion
Joan Didion’s 78th birthday is as good an excuse as any to revisit her conversation with Sheila Heti for the Believer. The two talk about the performative aspects of writing, the confidence a writer has to claim, and Didion’s aborted oceanography…
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When Dora the Explorer is Not Enough
Like many of his third-grade classmates, Mario Cortez-Pacheco likes reading the “Magic Tree House” series, about a brother and a sister who take adventurous trips back in time. He also loves the popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” graphic novels. But…
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War on (A Creepy But Also Somehow Boring Version of) Christmas
Lynn Beisner, like many of us, has been accused of waging a “war on Christmas.” In an essay at Role/Reboot, she explains why she’s tempted to do just that. If that seems harsh, keep in mind that her family’s Christmas…
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The History of Black Lesbian Cinema
It’s about a year old now, but whatever: this primer on black lesbian cinema is too good not to read. Salamishah Tillet walks us through twenty years of movies by and about queer women of color, from Watermelon Woman, a mockumentary…