The Quiet of a Ghost: Talking with Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Ingrid Rojas Contreras discusses her debut novel, FRUIT OF THE DRUNKEN TREE.
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Posts Tagged: privilege
On Becoming a Person of Color
I finish counting and start over, trying, always, to solve the equation of myself.
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Voices on Addiction: A Review of The Recovering
As recovering addicts, we must love ourselves back to the source, love our shameful bits and decimations and not just our reconciliations and resurrections.
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The Thread: The Masked Man
What I know and don’t know about men matters. What men know and don’t know about themselves matters more.
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ENOUGH: Please Have a Seat
A Rumpus series of work by women and non-binary people that engages with rape culture, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
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The NFL and Compulsory Patriotism
A piece of cloth is not being disrespected, but many black Americans are being disrespected, and killed.
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Portrait, Not Polemic: Laura & Emma by Kate Greathead
[S]quint at the story one way and you see a woman’s life hollowed out by the very privilege that allows her to coast; look at it from another angle and you see a regular person living a multi-faceted, flawed life.
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Tarnished, Shiny Exteriors: Kate Braverman’s A Good Day for Seppuku
With A Good Day for Seppuku, Braverman has written a collection of intense images and exacting language
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It’s All about Positionality: Talking with Kayleb Rae Candrilli
Kayleb Rae Candrilli discusses their debut collection, What Runs Over, reclaiming memory through poetry, and the political act of being happy.
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Rumpus Exclusive: “Passing as Privileged”
I don’t feel ashamed of my history, I feel ashamed of letting it be erased.
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The Burden of Teachable Moments
My voice begins to crack so I clear my throat. I look at each one of the girls one by one. The heat in me rises. My skin feels like the Texas pavement in July.
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Setting aside Time for Magic: Talking with Myriam Gurba
Myriam Gurba discusses her new memoir, MEAN, her writing process, and why she has hope for patriarchy’s dissolution.
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The Ability to Pass Becomes Her Cage: Talking with SJ Sindu
SJ Sindu discusses her new novel, Marriage of a Thousand Lies, queer readings of Hindu scriptures, and issues of privilege and power.
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What Do I Do With My Fear?: A Conversation with Megan Stielstra
Megan Stielstra discusses her new essay collection, The Wrong Way to Save Your Life, fear, privilege, and the intersection of politics and everyday life.
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The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #104: sam sax
I could write a bullet list of sam’s sax’s recent accomplishments, but the wiser thing would be to advise you to pick up his newly released book MADNESS.
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The Myth of White Male Rage: Jared Yates Sexton’s The People Will Rise
[I]n a book that argues we are divided and stuck in our own echo chambers, Sexton’s own divide goes unexamined, his own echo chamber unchallenged.
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The Election and the Ash Borer
Does it matter what words a sign says when a symbol says so much more? A white X. A carved swastika. Things get torn down from less.
...moreThe Summer of Lana Del Rey
Three summers ago, I did nothing but drive around Middlebury, Vermont, blasting Lana Del Rey and chain-smoking cigarettes. It was—and I will be dramatic, because that is how it felt—an act of survival. That summer I was in an academic program where we were only allowed to speak or be spoken to in French. But […]
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Blur, Cross, Pulverize, Confront, Remember: Talking with James Allen Hall
James Allen Hall on I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well, unmaking boundaries, and book titles.
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The Saturday Rumpus Essay: No Wound
Maybe I can touch it and show it to you. If I convince you, we can call it real. And then perhaps it will be.
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What I’ll Tell My Children: On Being ‘F***Able’ under the Regime of President-elect
It’s time to take responsibility for compliancy.
...moreAre You a Trans Ally?
Often well-intentioned cis folks like myself feel kind of overwhelmed by all there is to know and, not wanting to sound ignorant or hurtful, just kind of keep to the sidelines. But it doesn’t take a degree in gender studies to be a trans ally (nor does it require you to have an LGBTQ friend). […]
...moreWealth and the American Dream
Two recent novels, The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney and Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel, explore privilege and entitlement, and what happens when wealth disappears. It can be hard to feel sorry for trust fund kids when you live paycheck to paycheck, but: From some distance, it’s a parable about the […]
...moreThe Privilege of Innocence
In a powerful essay at Electric Literature, Nicole Dennis-Benn writes on innocence as a privilege that is not afforded to black children: Truth is, there is nothing parents can do. There is nothing black parents can do to protect their children and their children’s innocence. Diamond Reynold’s four-year-old daughter can attest to this as she […]
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The Rumpus Poetry Book Club Chat with Solmaz Sharif
Solmaz Sharif discusses her new collection Look, the difference between nearness and similarity, and the level of ownership we have over stories.
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What the Cameras Show Us: Ourselves
When I decided I needed to write this piece, I spent a lot of time wondering whether I could. Whether I should.
...moreArt as Moral Privilege
For the New York Times Bookends column, Rivka Galchen walks us through a deceptively simple poem by Zbigniew Herbert to illustrate a philosophy that supports both the abstract and the moral responsibility of art. She posits that “there is a way in which art for art’s sake is the art most open to all comers, and most […]
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The Rumpus Interview with Asali Solomon
Asali Solomon discusses her debut novel, Disgruntled, narrative structure, the mythology of memory and place, and returning to Philadelphia after years away.
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Used-Car Salesman
I wondered if he understood my joke, or its evasion, but surely he knew a used-car salesman always fudged his story. In fact, the car had been in my possession all of three weeks. Also, it didn’t exactly belong to me.
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