Writing “the very stuff of life”
Today in unusual writing jobs: an inside look at what it’s like to be an obituary news writer for the New York Times. Each day, it is our job to…
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The Rumpus
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Weekly Rumpus Fiction: Ursula Villarreal-Moura
The next Weekly Rumpus features fiction from Ursula Villarreal-Moura. Here’s an excerpt: Within a month of knowing her, Irina had turned me on to shoplifting. I was hooked on the…
The Lovers, the Dreamers, and Generation X
The Muppets taught us to think for ourselves, innovate, follow our dreams and make the world a better place. Head over to Salon to learn how the Muppets helped shape…
The Music Behind the Poems
Poetry and music share a word of process — composition — and are linked by negotiations of melody, harmony, rhythm, proportion, and discord. While some poets require silence to compose,…
New Readers Report Theme: “Missed Connections”
We’re hungry for more writing from Rumpus readers, so we’re now accepting submissions for our next Readers Report! This time, we want you to tackle the theme “Missed Connections.” Please…
UMass Amherst Celebrates 50 Years of MFA Writing!
Online literary magazine Route Nine released a special alumni issue to celebrate the UMass Amherst MFA for Poets & Writers’s 50th Anniversary. Route Nine is edited by Rumpus Tumblr editor Molly McArdle. In…
A 21st Century Kind of Poet
At The Millions, Michael Bourne writes about the stunning success of poet Tess Taylor’s debut collection, The Forage House, and technology’s hand in making it happen: When writers talk about literature…
Weekly Rumpus Fiction: Sonja Vitow
The next Weekly Rumpus features fiction from Sonja Vitow. Here’s an excerpt: It used to bother me and Connor a little that Rachel kept the photos from the wallets we stole.…
Money Problems
Reading, writing and thinking are all tasks that are nearly impossible to cultivate while performing manual labor. As Plato first noted, when discussing education, “sleep and exercise are unpropitious to…
The Works Behind the Work
Over at the New Yorker, Meg Wolitzer writes about the cultural influences that helped inform her novel The Interestings. They include Archie comics, folk music, and Michael Apted’s “Up” films”: A good…
The Elusive Happy Ending
Happy endings are hard to come by in great literature, especially in stories that center on affluent American suburbs and their inhabitants. Over at the Atlantic, writer Ted Thompson looks…