Rumpus Original
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Cradle Song
Cradle Song is more than poetry. Stacey Lynn Brown has written a cultural history of the south, of its tenuous and tendentious relationships, of the complicated and often disturbing power struggles between women and men, black and white.
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10/40/70 #3: Raising Cain
This column is an experiment in writing about film: what if, instead of freely choosing which parts of the film to address, I select three different, arbitrary time codes (in this case and for future columns, the 10-minute, 40-minute, and 70-minute…
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THE BLURB #15: The Monster Impulse
The panic that pervades these stories arises because in our real, human world there is too much cause for fear and worry. Who, exactly, is responsible for the deteriorating environment? What, precisely, causes terrorism? Enter the bugbears and scapegoats.
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The Rumpus Review of The Secret in Their Eyes
The richest articulation yet of Campanella’s restrained visual wit and uniquely humanist aesthetic, and one of the few genuinely sensitive thrillers ever made.
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An Oral History of Love in Contemporary America: Selections from Us #4
Dominic Sclafani, Age 30 Tucson, Arizona “He’s like, ‘She’s going to eat you alive.’ And I go, ‘Yes, I know.’”
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Stars of the Night Commute
Stars of the Night Commute is a tremendous first book by a poet who has been publishing for some time now… One distinctive feature of Božičević’s work is that her poems work well together, that is, not only telling stories…
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Ted Wilson Reviews the World #31
SKID MARKS ★★★★★ (5 out of 5) Hello, and welcome to my week-by-week review of everything in the world. Today I am reviewing skid marks.
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Things to Do in Denver When You’re Braindead: An AWP Retrospective
1. Award George Saunders the Nobel Prize in Decency Have you ever met a single reader or writer who does not worship George Saunders? You have not. You have not because George Saunders represents everything writers should be.
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The Resistance of Memory
Ander Monson attempts to move beyond “the singular authority of ‘I’ in nonfiction,” exploring new possibilities for the memoir form.
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FUNNY WOMEN #21: Is That a Rabbit in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Trying to Date Me?
I’m sorry. It may be wrong to judge people based on their ideas and expectations, but I just wouldn’t date a magician.
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A FAN’S NOTES, The Rumpus Sports Column #23: Underdog Tattoo
One time I was in the checkout line at the grocery store, standing behind a dark-haired woman whose left arm was covered in tattoos. Another shopper—a young man wearing a summery straw hat—approached the woman and asked, “Do you mind…
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Faith in Withheld Meanings
What do nuclear waste, suicide, and Las Vegas have in common? John D’Agata searches for meaning in the heart of Yucca Mountain