Interviews
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The Rumpus Interview with Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus—founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and main songwriter of Pavement, one of the most critically and publicly adored bands in indie rock history—talks about his recent years with the Jicks, writing riffs, and not dwelling on the past.
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The Rumpus Interview with Ashley Farmer
Voices call back to one another throughout Ashley Farmer’s Beside Myself—the breaks between stories sometimes function like key changes, encouraging readers to receive the book’s motifs in different ways…
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The Rumpus Interview with John W. Evans
John W. Evans talks about his memoir Young Widower, which was partly borne from two Rumpus essays, and how to make meaning of something—especially grief and loss—if not through narrative.
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The Rumpus Interview with Jennifer Vanderbes
Jennifer Vanderbes discusses her latest novel, The Secret of Raven Point, the role of women in military history, and focusing on figures not commonly foregrounded in war literature.
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The Rumpus Interview with Zachary Lazar
Writer Zachary Lazar chats about his newest novel, I Pity The Poor Immigrant, as well as following trails, writing books that are “accidentally Jewish,” and the benefits of becoming a crime writer.
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The Rumpus Interview with Fred D’Aguiar
British-Guyanese poet, novelist, and playwright Fred D’Aguiar discusses the influence of Jonestown on his work, writing in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, and the need to pay attention when tragedy comes to your door.
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The Rumpus Interview with Fiona Maazel
Writer Fiona Maazel talks about her love for the “sad, lonely, self-loathing guy,” the appeal of cults, setting her latest novel in the wildly divergent worlds of North Korea and Cincinnati, and her current fascination with neuroprosthetics.
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The Rumpus Interview with Chad Harbach
Chad Harbach sits down to talk about MFA vs NYC and its ongoing debate, co-founding the literary magazine n+1, and the intuitive process behind looking at your own work.
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The Rumpus Interview with Rachel Urquhart
Writer Rachel Urquhart discusses her novel The Visionist, the complex nature of Shaker society, the use of restraint when writing about violence, and what it means to “write like a man.”
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The Rumpus Interview with Efrim Menuck
Efrim Menuck, the Canadian musician behind Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra La La Band and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, talks about music journalism, writing grooves, anarchy, and the apocalypse.
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The Rumpus Interview with Duncan Wall
Duncan Wall, a prominent circus theorist and advocate for circus arts, discusses his memoir, The Ordinary Acrobat, narratives of performance, and community-building with the nonprofit Circus Now.
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The Rumpus Interview with Bill Cotter
Writer Bill Cotter talks about his new novel, the joy of discovering writing a bit later in life, and the dangers of accidental self-plagiarism.