Meiko Takechi Arquillos took this photo of a preteen, and the portrait is beautiful and complex and true. This photograph reminds me of Dutch artist Rineke Dijkstra. Do you know her work? If not,…
Perhaps what is most thrilling about Stingray Clapping, Andrew Choate’s enigmatic collection of tonal, non-sequitur phrases, is that the book compels the reader to imagine the amoral absurdities of phrases…
Saturdays Belong to Zoë Ruiz is a bold statement. I have a trouble with things belonging to me. So I tell myself, Saturdays, I belong here. I tell myself, Saturdays,…
Few poets choose to share poignant emotions with a cheeky smile and a sly wink. It is rare indeed when a poet manages to successfully blend comedy with genuine emotional…
Sometimes I fantasize about expanding these conversations beyond the one-on-one—getting a few particular writers into a room together to discuss the risky business of writing the sort of memoir or…
The next Letter in the Mail, going out this Friday, is from artist and head Rumpus illustrator Jason Novak. Jason brings countless Rumpus essays–including today’s OG Dad–to visual life. You…
How many contemporary Canadian poets can I name? Not many, which makes me feel stupid, especially since the books I have read by Canadian writers are so good. Mark Dunn…
For our first interview of 2013, we sit down with the incomparable Zadie Smith for a thoughtful chat about identity, the pleasure of reading, and how to write honestly about the state of humanity.
If Thomas McGrath were a painter, he would apply fat brushes to giant canvasses in complex color and texture. Gershwin’s gloss and the landscape of Copland are tame music compared…
Michele Filgate’s Ultimate Book Guide, on Salon, navigates 2012’s best by asking writers like Junot Diaz, Carol Anshaw, Jami Attenberg and 47 others to talk about their favorite books this…
In her first book of poetry, naturalist and award-winning essayist Eva Saulitis explores the web of connections between nature, science, language, and the continually opening territory of the self, where…