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Join NOW!Bay Area, get ready for an evening of art and comedy! Featuring Joshua Mohr, reading from his new novel, Fight Song! Susan Steinberg, reading from her new short story collection, Spectacle! Comedy by Sean Keane! Music by Michael Mullen of The Size Queens! Hosted by our own Isaac Fitzgerald! Tonight, 7pm at Amnesia (853 Valencia St.)
...morePloughshares reviews Gina Frangello’s short story “My Parasite” for their “Best Story I Read in a Lit Mag This Week” series. “Perhaps what is most important is that Frangello’s characters are larger than the futuristic space they occupy, and I’m not sure that many narratives in such a setting can boast this.” Thanks, Ploughshares!
...moreMetaFilter linked to “Sick,” Amy Butcher’s essay on friendship, mental illness, and more. We love you back, MetaFilter!
...moreIn case you missed it last week, check out Steve Almond’s “Why I Write Smut: A Manifesto.” It’s an excerpt from Writs of Passion, a set of six tiny books made up of Almond’s stories and essays that are too dirty for prime-time. The book covers fit together like a puzzle to reveal a steamy scene […]
...moreLongreads chose “Sick,” Amy Butcher’s powerful essay on mental illness, as one of their picks this week. Thanks, Longreads, we love you back!
...moreKottke linked to our Super Bowl Preview for People Who Don’t Know Football. Thanks, Kottke! We love you back!
...moreKay Thi Win has been elected to the International Board of the Association of Women in Development (AWID). Win is a sex worker, advocate, and the chairperson of the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers. Watch or read the speech she gave at the 2012 AWID forum in Istanbul. What we need is for the mainstream women’s movement to […]
...moreTomorrow evening, The Chris Gethard Show will take the stage at Eureka Theatre as part of SF Sketchfest. The title of the show is “Some Guy’s Girlfriend Fucked Him Over.” Here’s why: Our entire show on Friday will involve tormenting the boyfriend of a female fan of TCGS who sold out her boyfriend for her own amusement. I invite […]
...moreWe’re thrilled that Rumpus contributor Saeed Jones is the new editor of BuzzFeed LGBT. Read the just-released BuzzFeed LGBT manifesto, and we’re sure you’ll share our excitement. Another reason to celebrate: Saeed’s first BuzzFeed piece, “How Men Fight for Their Lives” was reprinted from the Rumpus!
...morePen & Ink duo Wendy MacNaughton and Isaac Fitzgerald were commissioned by McSweeney’s to create temp tats for children. The result: Six (Temporary) Tattoos to Give Yourself At Home. Plus a handy chart for temporary tattoo “guns” rated for usability and permanent-ness. The tats will fade but the do-it-yourself ethos might just linger on.
...moreJason Diamond writes about how he came to a deeper understanding of Edith Wharton, her work, and the New York neighborhood where she grew up and which Diamond “once tried so hard to avoid.” Wharton is one of the few great fiction writers whose work takes on a different meaning when you begin to understand […]
...moreThe Billfold praised Seth Fischer’s essay on mental illness and “empathy and cruelty and survival.” Thanks, The Billfold! We love you back!
...moreIf you’re participating in Letters to Each Other, make sure you get your letter sent off today! Click here for more on how to partake in the program.
...moreAt Mother Jones, Mac McClelland reports on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in veterans and their families. “Medical journals note some family members of vets exhibit symptoms ‘almost identical to PTSD.’ Except the ‘T’ is their loved one’s behavior.” (You can read our Rumpus interview with McClelland here.)
...moreYesterday, we mentioned McDonald’s plan to pair books with Happy Meals in the UK. USA Today likes the idea, too!
...moreJezebel gave love to Timothy Leo Taranto’s visual puns of literary greats. We love you back!
...moreA bitterly violent war against Mexican Drug Cartels wages on across the U.S. border. Tens of thousands are being murdered, and over a million are being forced to flee their homes. U.S. laws and policy play a major role in the conflict’s violence. This video is about understanding the complexities of the war and why it is happening. Watch […]
...moreIn their Fieldguide to Ashley Blue, Fleshbot cites our interview with the porn actress and author. We love you back!
...moreBig news from Rumpus managing editor Isaac Fitzgerald and artist Wendy MacNaughton: Pen & Ink, the duo’s Tumblr devoted to tattoos and the stories behind them, will be made into a book! The book promises favorite classics along with never before seen pieces. Get excited–and submit your tattoo stories!
...morePitchfork wrote about our recently concluded Real Man Adventures series, which featured eight original songs inspired by chapters in T Cooper’s new memoir-cum-literary scrapbook. Thanks, Pitchfork, we love you back! If you missed the series, head over here to find all eight songs in one place.
...moreOur thoughts are with the victims of the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. There are no words.
...moreIn their 2012 Holiday Gift Guide, The Chronicle of Higher Education endorsed our Letters for Kids subscription: “1 more thing for kids: The Rumpus’s Letters for Kids project will mail your child a letter every few weeks from a children’s / young adult author. We’ve had this for a while, and the 9yo loves it.” We love you back!
...moreIn a New York Times op-ed that’s been making its way around the internet, Christy Wampole asserts that irony is the ethos of our age. At The Atlantic, Jonathan D. Fitzgerald argues that she has it backwards. “All across the pop culture spectrum, the emphasis on sincerity and authenticity that has arisen has made it un-ironically […]
...moreIn discussing Kurt Vonnegut’s theory that you’re only allowed to be in love three times in a life, The Atlantic cites and praises our recent interview with Nanette Vonnegut, the late author’s daughter. We love you back!
...more“Stepping back I think about how authenticity and growth were at the heart of every conversation I had with The Rumpus’ staff, and how the two are inescapably intertwined.” We’re thrilled by the kinds words from the The Bold Italic, in their profile (complete with illustrations) of Rumpus rock star editors Stephen Elliott, Isaac Fitzgerald, […]
...moreThree years ago yesterday, in honor of Kurt Vonnegut’s birthday, we reprinted Steve Almond’s homage to the late author, “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt.” “The main thing was that Vonnegut made an impact on readers. He wasn’t one of those recluses who hid behind coy fictional guises. Every sentence he wrote, every character, was stamped in his image. […]
...more“X—well, X is just failing. At taking vitamins. At fully committing himself to the idea of dental hygiene. At opening beer bottles and wine bottles and most bottles made of non-synthetic material. Give X something with a metal lid, and he’ll give it right back to you.” Failure is front and center in Rumpus interviews […]
...moreOne commenter shared a few great suggestions in response to today’s Week in Greed. Maura says: 1. To find your polling place, you can text “FIND” to 228466. It will ask for your address and then tell you your polling location. 2. If anyone has any trouble at the polls, call 866-OUR-VOTE. This is a hotline number […]
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