Posts by author
Pat Johnson
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Death of a Gay Porn Star
“Why do gay porn stars kill themselves” offers an intimate account into Conner Habib’s experiences in gay porn, and examines the cultural misunderstandings and attitudes regarding the recent suicide of gay porn star Arpad Miklos. Habbib says: The theories appeared…
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Graywolf Press Needs your Help!
Books sales cover only 50 percent of Graywolf’s expenses, which is why they are currently running an Indiegogo campaign to raise money to build a new and much improved website. Features on Graywolf’s new website will include: behind the scenes…
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The Malleable Memory
What if you discovered that some of your richest childhood memories were actually fabrications? According to Oliver Sacks, research suggests that some of our most vivid memories may not have happened–or at least didn’t happen the way we remember. Sacks…
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A chat with Karen Russell
Check out Rumpus contributor Maddie Oatman’s recent interview with Karen Russell. Russell and Oatman discuss her Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel Swamplandia!, as well as topics ranging from the imagination, vampires, and what kind of horse Mitt Romney would be. MJ: What do…
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The Bay Area: A History of Booms and Busts
At the London Review of Books, Rebecca Solnit provides readers with historic and contemporary insight into the Bay Area’s long history of “booms and busts”–from the California gold rush to the dot-com bubble—and examines the positive, but mostly detrimental effects these economic changes…
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Allen Ginsberg, The Photographer
Ginsberg is not typically remembered for his photography, but from 1950 to 1990 he captured hundreds of photographs documenting his life, family, and friends. In “The Photography of Allen Ginsberg,” Roslyn Bernstein discusses going to Ginsberg’s poetry readings during her youth,…
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Beth Lisick’s “Tell You What” reading and signing
If you’re going to be in San Francisco February 9th, be sure not to miss “Tell You What” at 3:00-4pm: a reading/variety event made possible by Creativity Explored. Creativity Explored and its artists are the inspiration and content source for renowned…
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Wright’s Anna Karenina: Noble Failure?
Amanda Shubert’s essay “Love in Excess: Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina” takes two of Wright’s film adaptations, Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Atonement (2007), and perceptively compares and contrasts them to Anna Karenina (2012). According to Shubert, Anna Karenina is a “mess”…
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The Origin of Luddites
Many of us may have felt like a Luddite sometime or another. Maybe you almost smashed your first smartphone after fumbling with it for hours. Or if you’re old school, maybe you refuse to buy a computer because your typewriter…
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A Library for the Unpublished
Have a piece you’ve been trying for years to get published, but it continues to get rejected? If it’s potential readers you’re looking for and not money, there’s always the Brautigan Library. The Brautigan library is where unpublished books go…
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New Music from Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s new album, We the Common, comes out Feb. 5, and we definitely recommend giving it a listen. Stephen Thompson, in his NPR review, describes Thao’s music as: Quirky but cutting, playful but forceful,…
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Flood the Art Market: Hurricane Sandy Benefit Party
Hey, New Yorkers! Tonight, January 28, from 5:00 to 9:30pm, the Cristin Tierney Gallery is having an art party/silent auction to benefit artists affected by Hurricane Sandy. Over 100 pieces of art have been donated to help the cause. So…