The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #139: Debra Jo Immergut
“If the door doesn’t open, it’s okay to walk away, give your poor head a rest. And try again later.”
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Posts Tagged: Orange Is The New Black
Sound & Vision: Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw
Allyson McCabe talks with Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw, two of the founders of the performance group Split Britches, about their lives and work.
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Good Girls Revolt and Female-Focused Sex on TV
Sexual politics run through the very veins of this show. They are its blood, and they know how to get the female viewer’s heart pumping.
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Vigilantism and Orange is the New Black: The Anxiety of Injustice
When those in power stifle the voices of survivors, they find other ways of expressing their truths.
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Conversations with Literary Ex-Cons: Vickie Stringer
Vickie Stringer talks about her first novel Let That Be the Reason, her Triple Crown Publishing venture, life in prison, and making hip-hop literature.
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The Rumpus Interview with Wayne Harrison
Wayne Harrison discusses his debut novel, The Spark and the Drive, fiction, working as a correctional officer, and Carl Benz’s three-wheeled Motor Car.
...moreSuffering for Our Entertainment
Piper Kerman, author of the memoir Orange is the New Black, is a vocal spokesperson for the rights of prisoners. But, asks April Bernard on the New York Review of Books blog, does the successful Netflix show that is based on the book, do the same? Or does it trivialize the plight of prisoners and turn […]
...moreYoung Writer Cold, Too Many Drafts
You may have encountered the six word story in lit class, Hemingway’s“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Follow us here for a site dedicated to them. Six-Word Memoirs is hosting the #SixWords Festival on Twitter, June 4th-6th. To kick the event off, Maria Shriver, Katherine Schwarzenegger, and Molly Ringwald will be judging the “Best Advice in Six […]
...moreWhen Life and Art Get Messy
A writer for Orange is the New Black talks about discovering she was gay while writing for the show: Accordingly, I was nervous about the first love scene I’d written for Alex and Piper. I’d loved writing it, loved watching a tenderness emerge in their relationship where passion always seemed to be the ruling principle, […]
...moreHow Accurate Is Orange Is the New Black?
We’ve blogged a bit about Orange is the New Black from storytelling and feminist angles, but what do real-life women who have been to prison think about the show? According to the women Kat Stoeffel talked to, it’s actually pretty accurate—especially the part about the maxi-pads. Read more about their thoughts and experiences at The Cut. (And […]
...more“This Other Reality Exists”
Our girl Elissa Bassist lays some hella smart analysis on Orange is the New Black for Medium: To see what’s been missing in popular culture is to see how comprehensive and refined the brainwashing has become….the number/diversity of women on-screen, the depth/complexity of their stories, the scope/span of their humanity—is one antidote to objectification. She also quotes […]
...more“Have You Ever Seen This Many Women On Screen Together?”
What I can tell you is that throughout every step of creating this show, I’m constantly struck by how many women I’m surrounded by—not just in the room, but beyond it: the cast, the crew, the people in charge on every level. It’s in stark contrast to the executive floor at the Important Studio, where […]
...moreStories About Women in Prison
Orange Is the New Black, the new Netflix series based on the memoir of Rumpus interviewee Piper Kerman, has piqued viewers’ interest in the stories of women in prison. Whose stories get told, and how do we interpret them? A blog post at Bust runs through some of the most famous movies on the subject, from pre–Hays […]
...more“Orange Is The New Black”
If you’ve been keeping tabs on Netflix’s new brand of television, you’ve probably been anticipating the premiere of Orange is the New Black. What you may not know is that the series, about a woman who is incarcerated after she is caught running money for an international heroin gang, is based on Piper Kerman’s memoir of […]
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Conversations With Literary Ex-Cons: Piper Kerman
Piper Kerman is the author of the memoir Orange is the New Black, a story of how, years after running money for an international heroin gang, she was indicted, convicted, and did time in a federal women’s prison.
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