Posts by author
Sam Riley
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Salman’s Story
Certified E.M.T. and former NYPD cadet, Salman went missing after helping save lives on September 11th, ten years ago. Instead of spurring “Missing” fliers, his face was brandished across “Wanted” fliers, urging people to contact the terrorist task force. His…
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The Believer‘s Fall Bounty
This month’s Believer Magazine has got a cornucopia of fall’s literary treats and some are available in full on their website. Here’s a review of Andrew Foster Altschul’s Deus Ex Machina, the Rumpus’ Book Club selection back in December. If…
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A Novel with a Novel Website
Paul La Farge’s novel is coming to your local bookseller’s shelves soon. Luminous Airplanes, is about a man cleaning up his deceased grandfather’s home. His book’s got an accompanying website with sample passages and new material, in the spirit of…
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September Lit Events in NYC
New York’s September’s got a slew of literary events, brought to you by Housing Works Bookstore Café at 126 Crosby in SoHo. The events range from internet meme-themed variety shows, teacher appreciation happy hours to travel writing book groups, but…
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An Awesome Resource for Kids and Everybody
The International Children’s Digital Library is providing free access to books, hoping to collect books from all cultures and languages in order to preserve a sense of family heritage and promote free access to information that extends beyond language barriers.…
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Poor Word Choice and its Consequences
Maya Angelou is ruffling some feathers with a recent statement insulting the choice of words that are splayed across the side of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Monument in Washington: “I was a drum major for justice peace and…
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Young Journalists in a Cut-Throat World
There’s yet another example of underpaid and undervalued journalists, this time from the campaign bus. Budget cutbacks have filled these buses with fledging reporters, in contrast to the seasoned political journalists that once occupied those very seats. Mid twenty years…
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Who and What is Happy?
Science and philosophy are the academic parents of the social sciences, which is interesting considering the current obsession with happiness. There’s always an updated study on what (or what doesn’t) make human beings happy, from the psychological/sociological perspective, always backed…
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The Beatles as a Pronoun Treasure Trove
Pronouns are really in right now—probably the most popular figure of speech at the moment. And they deserve all the attention because of their linguistic functionality, their significance in unveiling our true social psyche, and their ubiquity in Beatles lyrics.…
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Print Dictionaries or Bust
Dictionaries, and reference books in general, are in trouble. These days there’s more googling than reference book-perusing. John Walsh reflects on the dictionaries that once acted as writers’ essential companions, the inherent treasures of print dictionaries and the perils of…
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Twitter Alter-Egos
Performance art is taking on twitter. Faux famous author accounts are in and they’re taking over. Laura Ingalls Wilder is pioneering the field with her twitter feed (@halfpintingalls) and not only do her tweets stay true to the Little House…