Once, I did a reading in New York where an older lady came up to me afterwards and said, “Your writing is beautiful, and there’s no doubt you’re a great writer, but I’m sorry I won’t be reading any more of that story. That was just too painful for me.” Then, a year or two […]
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Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Unapologetic Women
Call and Response: Roxane Gay Reflects on Tragedy
Roxane Gay examines her own feelings on tragedy and atrocity and in doing so, helps us find compassion in grief and anger.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
On Island: Journeying to Penal Colonies, from Rikers to Robben
On journeys to Rikers Island in New York City and Robben Island in South Africa, Roohi Choudhry examines issues of incarceration and racism, and envisions a day when the convicted are no longer exiled to penal colonies.
Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2016: Essays & Criticism
We asked a few writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here, the best in essays and criticism.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Pulse Nightclub Was My Home
On the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Edgar Gomez reflects on what a safe haven the club was for him and others — maybe even shooter Omar Mateen.
Posted inBooks, Fiction, Quotes
Phoebe Gloeckner on ‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl’ and the Women of Juarez
At The Rumpus, Whitney Joiner recently interviewed Phoebe Gloeckner, author of The Diary of a Teenage Girl, the controversial illustrated novel about a girl who loses her virginity to her mother’s boyfriend, originally published in 2002, and just made into a feature film. It was the second time Gloeckner sat down with Joiner—a senior features […]
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Quotes
Jennifer Nix on June Carter Cash’s Influence on Her Life
In our hotel room that night, I broke out “Press On” and we took turns listening to songs on my Discman. Johnny and June’s duet “The Far Side Banks of Jordan” visibly stirred my dad, and at song’s end he said, “I wonder which one will go first. The other won’t last long after that.” […]
Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2016: Under-Recognized Stories
We asked a few writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here, the best in under-recognized stories.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction
On Female Friendship and the Sisters We Choose for Ourselves
Essayist Chloe Caldwell on the “sisters” we choose for ourselves, and her close relationship with her surrogate younger sister, Cheryl Strayed’s daughter Bobbi.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
On Female Friendship and the Sisters We Choose for Ourselves
Essayist Chloe Caldwell on the “sisters” we choose for ourselves, and her close relationship with her surrogate younger sister, Cheryl Strayed’s daughter Bobbi.
