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Join NOW!In some way I think all the stories I write are love stories… Over at the New Yorker, writer Ramona Ausubel discusses “You Can Find Love Now,” her short story about a lonely cyclops who turns to the Internet in his quest for companionship. In her newest collection, Ausubel writes about mythical or unusual creatures […]
...moreVivian Maier has been called one of the greatest street photographers of the 20th century, but during her lifetime, she worked as a nanny and kept her photography on rolls of film that went undeveloped. Over at The Millions, Janet Potter raises questions about Maier’s decision to keep her artwork to herself: “Why is someone […]
...moreAs any lover of literature might tell you, all books are not created equal. But this does not mean that there is nothing to be gained from novels that are, in many ways, flawed. Over at the New York Times, writers Leslie Jamison and James Parker discuss “supposedly terrible books that left a lasting impression”: I will always love Go Ask […]
...moreOn Wednesday, the writing world (and the world at large) lost literary luminary Maya Angelou. In this 1990 interview with the Paris Review, the beloved American author and poet discussed her deep appreciation for the English language and shed light on her writing process. But what I try to keep in mind mostly is my craft. That’s what I […]
...moreIn The World Exchange, Alena Graedon’s debut novel, language is in danger, and reading becomes a means of salvation. Over at the New Yorker, bibliophile Peter C. Baker explains the problem with the idea that reading could be a panacea. In his words, “practical urgency and literature have little business mixing.” Baker believes that reading “cuts against the grain of […]
...moreAny rowdies heading to the back room of Brooklyn’s Soda Bar for some mid-week carrying-on last Wednesday night were in for a surprise. In the large, living-room-like space—ringed by a mismatched assortment of couches, cushy chairs, and coffee tables—there was a civilized silence. In this New Yorker article, Jamie Burns, who organizes silent-reading parties, is […]
...moreSince I was old enough to set out on my own I have been an avid traveler. I turned this obsession into a profession seven years ago when I became a foreign correspondent for the New York Times… Nicolas Kulish, the East Africa correspondent for the New York Times, co-authored a book on Aribet Heim, “a Nazi […]
...moreI wanted that plate. Lifting it up, I held it in my hands. Then, opening up my fingers, I let it drop. It fell with a sharp crash and smashed into three chunks… My mother recognized my handiwork. She cried for hours. I hadn’t seen her so upset since my father left. How much significance […]
...moreAt a 2011 panel discussion, Erin Hosier, a writer and literary agent, said that she wrote for the money. She had just gotten a book deal to write a personal memoir, and was looking forward to receiving her advance. In a recent interview with The Millions, Hosier says she assumed that the memoir “would just […]
...moreIf sentimentality is a sin, it is only because feeling can be so beautiful. One moment of sentiment in literature is worth a thousand failures. We often cannot see the rafters in the dark, but what a shame it would be to never reach for them. In an essay published at The Millions, Nick Ripatrazone describes the fear he once had […]
...moreBefore giving birth to her first child, Hannah Gersen had hoped to find an anthology of birth stories. At The Millions, Gersen writes that Labor Day is just what she was seeking, though she didn’t discover it until after she had given birth. But she found that reading this anthology after giving birth may have been even “more helpful” than it […]
...moreSteven Roggenbuck has been producing poetry “that is made, distributed, and viewed almost exclusively on the Web” since 2010. In this article in the New Yorker, Kenneth Goldsmith calls Roggenbuck’s videos, with their shaky camerawork and rough jump cuts, “meticulously crafted infomercials for poetry.” While some might question Roggenbuck’s improvised style, Goldsmith writes, “This type […]
...more“Why are you so interested in MFAs and whether they’re a good idea or not?” asked Rumpus friend Sheila Heti, in a recent interview with the New Yorker. Heti, who did not attend grad school, believes that it is possible for writers to fully immerse themselves in their craft without the help of a program. As Heti […]
...moreBefore Leslie Jamison was a New York Times bestseller, she was a student at Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In an interview with The Millions, Jamison said she has “a lot of faith and trust in the workshop process,” but this doesn’t mean she believes that the workshop process doesn’t come with its own set of limitations. […]
...moreIn the 1990s, Junot Diaz enrolled in an MFA program where there was silence when it came to critical discussions of racial identity. As Diaz writes in the New Yorker, “Shit, in my workshop we never talked about race except on the rare occasion someone wanted to argue that ‘race discussions’ were exactly the discussion a […]
...moreIn a piece featured on the Paris Review’s website, Sadie Stein encourages readers to check out the New York Public Library’s exhibition “The ABC of It: Why Children’s Books Matter.” The exhibition features original sketches and manuscripts of beloved children’s books. All these characters are complex, somewhat insolent, defiant, desperate for attention and love, and […]
...moreWhat’s the difference between an essay and a novel? Teju Cole considered that question in his 2012 essay, “The White Savior Industrial Complex,” writing that essays have points, while novels do not. While Cole continues to stand by this essay, he admits that there are exceptions to this rule. Some essays have no point at all, […]
...moreTerrifying though the unknown may seem, there are benefits to plunging into the murky waters of uncertainty. In an essay featured in the New Yorker, Rebecca Solnit writes, “It’s the job of writers and explorers to see more, to travel light when it comes to preconception, to go into the dark with their eyes open.” There is so much we […]
...moreAn article published in Flavorwire hails Cheryl Strayed (Rumpus’ very own Sugar) as a publishing hero. In Jason Diamond’s words, “Strayed is the rare type of writer who is both critically and commercially embraced, but also keeps her feet firmly planted in the literary world.” But how did this come to be? Diamond suggests that Strayed’s work ethic is the key. “Strayed has found […]
...moreWhen my grandmother taught me to make banana pancakes, which we did every Wednesday night through much of my childhood, she would counsel “Hold the bowl” as I stirred, which became, in our letters to each other, code for “I love you.” Might cooking for another person be considered an act of love? Emma Allen […]
...moreCritics might believe that “like” has infiltrated and degraded American English, but John McWhorter argues just the contrary. McWhorter claims that “like” is not a marker of the downfall of spoken language, but instead, a sign of its “growing sophistication.” He explains that “like” is not necessarily a sign of hesitation and indecision; it can […]
...moreIs writing a fundamentally speculative act? This is one of the questions Jenny Offill was asked in an interview with the Paris Review. Offill discusses the uncertainty that comes with being a writer, working constantly at a craft that can never be fully mastered. In Offill’s words, “That is why so many talented people stop writing. […]
...more“The dream of speed-reading has been around since long before screens were ubiquitous,” as James Camp writes in the New Yorker. Now, the much-discussed startup Spritz is promising to make that dream a reality with a technology that streams text in word by word, obviating the need to move one’s eyes while reading. Theoretically, this […]
...moreWriters who are currently trying to decide whether an MFA is right for them will find that the questions being raised today are not unlike those addressed by Flannery O’Connor: What first stuns the young writer emerging from college is that there is no clear-cut road for him to travel on. He must chop a […]
...more“Women are more likely than men to change form and style,” or so Stacey D’Erasmo writes in this New Yorker piece. Female artists tend to transform their work over the course of their careers, while male artists are more likely to remain faithful to the styles with which they make their debuts. If … the alienation […]
...moreI came from, not a small town, but basically not a very interesting place…So it was very important for me not to rebel but simply to get away, to go away. Travel writing doesn’t have to be lackluster. It can be smart and a pleasure to read, a form of literature in its own right, […]
...moreThe girls described in Emma Cline’s essay “See Me” are hopelessly lost in their shared desire to be noticed. Cline begins her essay by reflecting on her own adolescence experience of corresponding with a middle-aged man who promised to cast her in a film being made about his life. The two met on the streets of […]
...more…the unplugging movement is the latest incarnation of an ageless effort to escape the everyday, to retreat from the hustle and bustle of life in search of its still core. Phones, computers, and tablets, once seen as a way of facilitating interpersonal interactions, are increasingly being seen as barriers when it comes to face-to-face interactions. […]
...morePeople of color have been largely excluded from children’s literature. Of the 3,200 children’s books published in 2013, only 93 featured black characters. In his essay, “The Apartheid of Children’s Literature,” Christopher Myers speaks out against the trend of allowing members of certain racial groups to go unseen because of the color of their skin. […]
...moreYou’ve heard the rules of writing before. You probably know them well enough to recite “a litany as deeply embedded as the Lord’s Prayer.” Show, don’t tell. Write what you know. The first sentence is key. The last sentence is key… You should never write in the second person. But what function do the rules […]
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