Austin
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A Zone of Psychological Relief
Over at Lit Hub, Michele Filgate reports on the growing influence of Street Lit, which provides writing workshops and books to the homeless community in Austin, Texas. Filgate also talks with Street Lit founder Barry Maxwell, as he opens up about the “relief” reading…
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The Rumpus Interview with Manuel Gonzales
Manuel Gonzales talks about his new novel, The Regional Office is Under Attack!, transitioning from nonprofit work to teaching, and how to zig when a trope wants you to zag.
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This Week in Indie Bookstores
New York City’s St. Mark’s Bookshop has twice now been faced with closing over financial issues. But the store has a mysterious, rich benefactor who keeps pouring money into the shop. Despite the two lifelines, the store may close as…
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The Sunday Rumpus Interview: Chaitali Sen
Swati Khurana talks to the author of The Pathless Sky, a love story centered around place, the state’s authority, statelessness, and geology.
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The Rumpus Interview with Debra Monroe
Debra Monroe talks about her new memoir, My Unsentimental Education, the future of the genre, and how the Internet has changed what it means to be human.
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Music in a Flash
Very cool, artsy things are happening in Austin. Together with the literary journal NANO Fiction, Austin-based composer Russell Podgorsek and collaborators have created music to accompany the journal’s fall issue.
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13th Floor Elevators Reunited for First Show in 47 Years
The 13th Floor Elevators are one of those groups that seem to perfectly articulate their genre; a psychedelic band that disbanded in 1969 but whose records have a place in the core catalog of any kid trying to get to know…
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Being Like Him: Fathers, Daughters, and Sons in Boyhood
That scene at Antone’s plays out one of my biggest fears: that when women aren’t in the room, straight men shift their conversations.
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The Saturday Rumpus Interview: Guy Forsyth
Singer-songwriter Guy Forsyth talks about his time with the much-storied Asylum Street Spankers, his David and Goliath-esque legal battle against his former record label, and his latest album, The Freedom to Fail.
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Austin’s Lit Scene Heats Up
We’ve written before about the blossoming Austin publishing scene, particularly the small press A Strange Object and their first title, Three Scenarios in which Hana Sasaki Grows a Tail by Kelly Luce. Now the New York Times is taking notice, too (about…
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When Hippies and Rednecks Joined Forces
I can’t tell you how much these guys scared Nashville. Texans didn’t know who was boss. Texas Monthly has a must-read oral history of the creation of a new type of country music in Austin in the ’70s. Musicians like…
