comedy
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Machiavelli: Prince of Comedy
You could argue that Machiavelli’s entire worldview was comic, but comic in a peculiar way: ironic, wry, a little melancholy, punctuated by an earthy vulgarity that, these days, would get him thrown off a university faculty in a minute. The…
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The Saturday Rumpus Essay: Crushed
He’s a cute mensch, I gathered, a cuddly fellow with a well- groomed beard, sad eyes, and, most importantly, a comforting voice that sounded like he was about to either cry or laugh.
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The Rumpus Late Nite Poetry Show: Ross Gay
In Episode 9 of The Rumpus Late Nite Poetry Show, Dave Roderick talks with poet Ross Gay chats about his new collection, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, gardening, and “the discipline of joy.”
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Black and White and Black
Over at the New Yorker, Zadie Smith tackles Key and Peele: The two men are physically incongruous. Key is tall, light brown, dashingly high-cheek-boned, and L.A. fit; Peele is shorter, darker, more rounded, cute like a Teddy bear. Peele, who…
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The Rumpus Illustrated Interview with Megan Amram
Comedy writer and Twitter phenomenon Megan Amram talks time-travel, Jewish movie agents, and her new book Science . . . For Her!
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Tip of the Hat to Colbert
Among the many tributes to the nine-year run of The Colbert Report, which aired its final episode last week, comes Vulture’s tip of the hat on behalf of “book nerds.” The Colbert Report interviewed two authors a week, on average,…
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The Rumpus Interview With Paul Gilmartin
Paul Gilmartin discusses his podcast, The Mental Illness Happy Hour, how he found his own way into therapy, and the power of sharing shame.
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The Rumpus Interview with David Bezmozgis
The Rumpus talks to David Bezmozgis about Israel, making fact into fiction, politics in novels, and his new book, The Betrayers.
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Laugh Track
Inconceivably, unexplainably, and, inevitably, thankfully, Bill Cosby’s on tour again. But even off-stage, he’s been there all his life: In 1976, Cosby earned a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts, after writing a dissertation about whether teachers found…
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Conversations With Writers Braver Than Me: Samantha Irby
Sari Botton sits down with humorist Samantha Irby to talk sex, family conflicts, and the creative freedom of being an orphan.
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Another Unpopular Proverb
Popular novelist Teddy Wayne’s latest entry in his series of proverbs for McSweeney’s is called “Thought.” No, not the deep kind. Read it here.
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The Funny Side of Writing
Over at the New Yorker, read an excerpt from Mike Sacks’s upcoming Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today’s Top Comedy Writers. The selection features an interview with George Saunders, in which the writer talks about his upbringing, getting inspiration for…