Posts by author
Pat Johnson
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A trip to The Wilde West
When Oscar Wilde visited America, he met with writers like Walt Whitman and Henry James. But during his trip, his playful quips that many of us have come to love, actually seemed to annoy many Americans more than delight them.…
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Happy Birthday, Virginia Woolf!
Few writers made greater contributions to literature in the 20th century than Virginia Woolf. Woolf always brought fresh style and perspective to her work, such as the stream of consciousness in Mrs. Dalloway, the gender-bending cross-dressing epic Orlando: A Biography, or…
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One Author’s battle against the “Sexy” Sci-Fi Cover
Over the years, the “sexy-heroine” has become the standard model for sci-fi and fantasy book covers—but why? Is there something about big breasted women wielding guns and striking contorted poses that inherently causes sci-fi and fantasy audiences to buy more…
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Russifying the Rumpus
Aaron Gilbreath’s essay on smoking was recently translated into Russian by InsoSmI.ru, an organization in Russia that translates news, blogs, and essays from English into Russian. We think it’s pretty awesome that thanks to InsoSml.ru, our friends in Russia can…
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Talking with Tosches
Nick Tosches’ writing is dark, gritty, and has guts. Tosches has written 18 books, and is best know for his Dean Martin biography, Dino. In a recent Esquire interview by Scott Raab, Tosches discusses his new book, boozing, opium, poetry, and…
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Giving Tweets a Home
Geolocation is often used to disclose the location of tweets, Facebook posts, and smartphone photos. Nate Larson and Marni Shindelman track down the GPS coordinates attached to tweets, and take photos of the area where the tweets were uploaded. Jakob…
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The Debate on Confessional Writing
There has been no shortage of criticism in response to Hamilton Nolan’s Gawker post “Journalism Is Not Narcissism.” Rumpus editor Stephen Elliott wrote a recent critique of Nolan’s essay, as did memoirist Jillian Lauren and Rumpus columnist Steve Almond. David Ulin recently…
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Writers vs Commerce
If you’re in New York on January 17th, we urge you to attend the event Writers vs Commerce at the amazing Housing Works Bookstore at 7:00pm. “Commerce and capitalism rarely smile upon the dedicated writer. Too many of our favorite…
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Heroin and Acne
Rumpus contributor Chloe Caldwell gives a bold account of her struggle with acne and heroin in her recent essay at Salon. Caldwell says: I’ve used drugs to numb myself since I was 16. They’ve helped me be there but not…
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Technology, Aesthetics, and Hollywood
David Denby’s provocative essay “Has Hollywood Murdered the Movies?” explores current movie culture and the future of the film industry. Denby takes a comprehensive look at how the production of big-budget movies is keeping “art-house” films with low or midrange…
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“Wayne Coyne’s Human Head-Shaped Tumor” Listening Party (Saturday)
Hey Bay Area friends, on December 15th our pal Richard Parks will be hosting a listening party for his radio show in San Francisco. If you missed last month’s broadcasting on KCRW, or just want to come out for another listen,…
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Anti-Hipster sentiments rising in Berlin
According to a recent article in The L Magazine, anti-hipster and tourist sentiments seem to be growing in Berlin. The article suggests an upsurge of abuse has been directed towards tourists and hipsters, who some Berlin-ians blame for gentrification.