How women writers and artists, from Virginia Woolf to Sophie Calle, found inspiration and freedom by navigating cities on foot. An excerpt from Lauren Elkin’s new book.
Books
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Rumpus Interview with George Saunders
In addition to plenty of great advice for aspiring writers, George Saunders reflects on the creative process for his new novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, the mystery of the “constellation of meaning” — the interviews, notes, and scenes that once distilled become his nonfiction work, and on bold compassion as the right course of resistance […]
Posted inNonfiction
‘Trilby,’ the Novel That Gave Us ‘Svengali’
George du Maurier’s Trilby, published in 1894, became one of the most popular novels of its time. The story introduced us to a young heroine, Trilby, and a memorable villain, Svengali, whose names have since taken on lives of their own.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Making Sense of Our Compulsions
Sharon Begley explores the behaviors we engage in to cope with unbearable anxiety.
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews
Making Sense of Our Compulsions
Sharon Begley explores the behaviors we engage in to cope with unbearable anxiety.
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews, Story
Making Sense of Our Compulsions
Sharon Begley explores the behaviors we engage in to cope with unbearable anxiety.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
But What’s IT All About?: How We Forgot the Murderous Clown
Adrian Daub’s fascinating essay in the LA Review of Books on the Stephen King classic IT — now 30 years old — reveals that the real horror of IT wasn’t Pennywise the supernatural clown, but our own, entirely human ability to forget the horrors of the past.
Posted inQuotes, Unapologetic Women
‘A Place of Refuge and Protection’: Roxane Gay Calls on Booksellers to ‘Rise to the Occasion’
“You are not just selling books. You are providing sanctuary. You are the stewards of sacred spaces.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Fiction Confidential
Before he became the patron saint of every tattooed-chef-in-a-gentrifying-neighborhood, Anthony Bourdain wrote novels. What can they tell us about the man behind the bad-boy persona?
Posted inEditor's Pick
Where “It” Was: Rereading Stephen King’s “It” on Its 30th Anniversary
Was It really about a murderous clown, or was it about our ability to forget the horrors of the past?