mary gaitskill
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Profiling the Princess of Darkness
The four books Gaitskill produced over the next two decades, all of them rife with sexual violence and self-destruction, cemented her reputation as the “Princess of Darkness”—as did her much-discussed past. Gaitskill, who was born in Kentucky and raised in…
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The Universal Truth of the Body
At Guernica, Jennifer Sears talks to Mary Gaitskill about her recent novel, The Mare, emotional accessibility, love that crosses social norms, and the challenges—technical and empathic—of developing a characters very different from herself. Gaitksill credits the body, her own, for…
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The Rumpus Book Club Chat with Paul Lisicky
The Rumpus Book Club talks with Paul Lisicky about his new book The Narrow Door>/em>, how much of your story you own, and the importance of reading your own work aloud.
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The Rumpus Interview with Annie Liontas
Annie Liontas talks about her debut novel Let Me Explain You, crafting voices, and the benefits—and occasional pitfalls—of returning to get an MFA after years of writing in the dark.
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Gaitskill on Tolstoy
Mary Gaitskill wrote for the Atlantic on Tolstoy’s classic Anna Karenina and the complexities of personality: Everyone says Anna Karenina is about individual desire going against society, but I actually think the opposite is stronger: the way societal forces limit the expression…
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Mary Gaitskill Procrastinates Too
For The Millions, Chelsea Voulgares talks to Mary Gaitskill about her new novel The Mare and how to establish productive writing habits: I’m not consistent like some people seem to be. Sometimes I don’t write at all. If I’m not really working on…
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Notable NYC: 10/31–11/6
Saturday 10/31: Sandra Simonds and Meld Nichols join the Segue Series. Zinc Bar, 4:30 p.m., $5. Monday 11/2: Angela Lockhart-Aronoff, Jaime Shearn Coan, Chelsea Lemon Fetzer, Morgan Parker, and Jon Sands join the Writing Aloud Reading Series. BookCourt, 7 p.m.,…
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The Saturday Rumpus Essay: Growing Up Gaming
“Is this inclusive or exclusive?” he asked with a creased brow. “I don’t like the idea that we’re being treated as a joke.”
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The Rumpus Interview with Megan Kruse
Author Megan Kruse talks about her debut novel, Call Me Home, queer characters in rural places, sibling relationships, and how the music of Lucinda Williams inspires her.
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Notable NYC: 11/1–11/7
Saturday 11/1: Adam Fitzgerald, Dara Wier, Sarah Rose Nordgren, and Bridget Talone read poetry. Berl’s Poetry Shop, 7 p.m., free. Mark Cugini, Iris Cushing, Dorothea Lasky, and Sam Wilder join the Banquet Reading Series. Greenpoint Heights, 8 p.m., free. Sunday…
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This Week in Short Fiction
It’s that time of year where we’re all craving a good scary story, be it told by candle light, on a screen, or in a book. Neil Gaiman’s middle-reader graphic novel Hansel and Gretel came out on Tuesday of this…
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The Rumpus Interview with Porochista Khakpour
Writer Porochista Khakpour discusses her new novel, The Last Illusion, her desire to literalize the surreal, the role addiction plays for her characters and narrative, and being a lover of outsider stories.