On the Front Lines
When you pick up a pen instead of a rifle, you’re fighting an entirely different battle. This is my duty. This is my patriotism.
Rumpus Original
8548 posts
Color Is a Language in Itself: Mahtem Shiferraw Discusses Fuchsia
Mahtem Shiferraw discusses her debut collection, Fuchsia, how she uses color to understand the world and to communicate, and why her work continually addresses displacement.
Reclaiming Patriotism: Telling a New Story of America
America is a broken window pane—shards of glass, each reflecting a different light.
What to Read When You Want to Make America Great Again
Here is a list of books that help remind us what actually makes America great (hint: it's not tax cuts).
A Funny Inevitability: In Conversation with Siel Ju
Siel Ju discusses her debut novel-in-stories, Cake Time, the difference between our online selves and real-life selves, and who she hopes will read her work.
The Last Greatest Show on Earth: Ringling vs. Reality
In other words, something’s wrong when you turn to acrobats and lion tamers to anchor yourself in a spinning world.
Sound & Vision: Leah Hennessey
Allyson McCabe talks with Leah Hennessey, a co-creator of the DIY web series Zhe Zhe, about the art of performance in the age of Trump.
Dispatches from the Swamp: The Absolute Necessity of Softball
And then one guy on his team yells, “You have to touch the bases, buddy! This is still America!” That is all it takes. For one guy on the other side to put country over party.
How to Write About Your Disability
It’s like having the hiccups, you write instead. Everyone has had hiccups, after all. Accuracy is secondary to relatability, because you are tired, now, and twitchy, and the giant’s hands are pressing harder as you write.
What Is Being Charted Here?: Talking with Jennifer S. Cheng
Poet and essayist Jennifer S. Cheng discusses her collection House A, working "in the dark," and the idea of home.
Beautiful Liar
I tell myself that all I need is practice and maybe much better shorts. I wonder: when did I become such a beautiful liar? Walk, walk, walk, and fly.
Voices on Addiction: Shame Is a Treble Hook
Shame is a treble hook that tells me that 1) I not only fail but am a failure, that 2) I not only damage people but I am damaged, and that 3) I not only lie but I am a lie.