cities
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The Hipster Consumes
…I can eat hip, wear it, and hang out with people who do the same. I do like artisanal food and vintage clothes. But I’d trade their proliferation in a heartbeat for the chance to eliminate my high-five-figure student debt…
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A Conversation with Ivan Vladislavić
Tristan Foster interviews South African writer Ivan Vladislavić on the importance of art in his writing, having a large body of work, and the appeal (or lack of appeal) of cities: Our love for cities is always unrequited. Johannesburg is not…
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City and Sustenance
At Hazlitt, novelist Orhan Pamuk discusses the influence of food and food vendors on his latest work, the ritual of drinking boza, and the inspiration that the city of Istanbul provides: I walk in the city all the time. It’s…
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The Saturday Rumpus Essay: Song in the Subjunctive
Perhaps the city looked more poignantly lovely because I was conscious of its tragic history.
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Spotlight: Ben Nadler and Alyssa Berg
Writer Ben Nadler and illustrator Alyssa Berg team up on a graphic story titled “The Broadway Express.”
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The Rumpus Interview with Michael Helm
One of the key themes of Helm’s novels is whether or not imagination can help humanity deal with a troubled past. Can the stories we tell about each other…help us reach some sort of peace?
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The Golden Gate Bridge = The George Washington Bridge?
Want to leave NYC but fear too much about abandoning your beloved Red Hook/Boreum Hill/Washington Heights/Harlem/Upper West Side…? Check out The Morning News’s list of counterpart neighborhoods throughout the US and abroad. Rumpus pal Alexander Chee recommends Portland, Maine’s Vinalhaven…
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Intertextual Cityscapes
According to his website, Matthew Picton is interested in “humanising the city by deconstructing the clean, uncompromising aesthetic of the cartographic city plan and imbuing it with the unique history and culture of each place.” Deconstructed, his works — bird’s…
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‘Who’s Up, Who’s Down, Who’s New’
Monocle Magazine‘s annual global quality of life survey is freshly released for public consumption. A city’s livability and lovability (amongst other things) are considered in this reflection on what makes a city great. Adaptability, innovation, and connectivity are prized characteristics by monocle correspondents,…
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Dream City
Salon kicked off a new column called Dream City with an exploration of how “cities of the future” are being designed. “…The inescapable truth is that the new urban reality we’ve created — the one with spiffed-up boulevards and cutting-edge…