Dearest Readers,
I went to *the Biltmore* this week, after going through several rounds of emails asking their gardeners exactly when their "September flush" of roses was predicted. As you can see from my little collage below, their crystal ball was working quite well.
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| Walking around the gardens, I could hear groups of strangers making conversation with one another. One pair would hear another talking about the hurricane's trajectory and interrupt to ask where their homes were. Invariably, they'd all be from somewhere in Florida, and would begin comparing predictions and histories and preparations.
Overhearing these conversations created a little time-fold: It was 2017, and I was living in Tampa Bay as Hurricane Irma was forecasted to come in, and we left at the last possible moment for North Carolina. Our apartment in Florida was unscathed, but the house where we'd hunkered down with family lost power and water. We were fine—we were lucky in so many ways—but just five years ago seems like another lifetime. I had a different partner, a different set of in-laws, both parents and siblings. Maybe it was less "another lifetime" and more like a looking glass; I now live in North Carolina full-time while my parents, who live in Florida, are visiting for the weekend.
I hope you are all safe and dry,
AS |
Our Disability in Education month has continued in force:
Reviews, reviews, reviews!
New original fiction by Temim Fruchter: It’s morning in Paris, and the superlative light comes in at an angle, illuminating the nothing our hosts have spared: bedding crisp enough to register our sleep positions in distinct creases, gold-plated secretary lamp, delicate vase of dried flowers, stacked fat white towels.
New original fiction by K.B. Carle: Maybe you hear what they say. That you are the Black bottom woman. The Black swamp woman. The Black hearted, Black breasted, Black bottle woman. Maybe that suits you just fine because, maybe, you deserve those names.
A reading list (put together by one of our amazing illustrators) for when you are battling monsters that are disguised in artists' clothes.
And finally,
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Coming Soon to a Mailbox Near You
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Letters in the Mail (for adult readers) authors include: Adriana Trigiani, Rita Zoey Chin, Eloisa Amezcua, and Joe Meno
Letters in the Mail for Kids (ages ~8-12) authors include: Misty Wilson, Maggie Horne, Esme Symes-Smith, and Betsy Uhrig
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Every month subscribers get a book in the mail handpicked by The Rumpus staff. We search for titles that we are truly excited about! Next up: Inciting Joy by Ross Gay for our (prose) Book Club (excerpt below!) and Franny Choi's The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On for our Poetry Book Club selection. If you're not already a subscriber, join by midnight October 15 to receive either or BOTH! As a subscriber, you'll also be invited to an exclusive online discussion with the book's author the last week of every month and we'll send you a pass code to join. These will take place on the brand new Rumpus Crowdcast channel and will remain available to members for 1 month after they take place in case you miss the live event or you'd like to re-watch the conversation later. |
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This week we're are delighted to share an excerpt from Franny Choi's THE WORLD KEEPS ENDING, BUT THE WORLD GOES ON, to be published on November 1, by ECCO Books. Join our Poetry Book Club by October 15 to receive the full collection and an invitation to our conversation with the author.
DISASTER MEANS “WITHOUT A STAR”
Sixty-six million years after the end of the world, I click purchase
on an emergency go-bag from Amazon. When it arrives, I’ll use my teeth
to tear open the plastic, unzip the pack stitched by girls who look like me
but for their N95s, half a judgment day away, no evacuation plan in sight.
Another episode of the present tense, and I can’t stop thinking
about the time line where the asteroid misses, Earth ruled eternally
by the car-hearted and walnut-brained. Meanwhile, I’m merely gorging
on the butterfly effects of ashes, ashes; reaching for the oat milk
. . .
(keep reading here) |
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Come hang out with us this weekend! (And by "us" I mean . . . Aly and Ian and Lauren and some of our wonderful readers.) On Sunday October 2, we'll be at The Book Fair from 10am-6pm. Swing by the table, pick up some mugs, join our book club, and snag a cute button.
Next, on Monday October 3 @ 7pm: McNally Jackson Seaport, we're celebrating Elissa Bassist's debut Hysterical (our September Book Club pick!) with some of our favorite Funny Women contributors throughout the years. |
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Your support keeps The Rumpus going! |
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257 Haywood Rd Unit 201
Asheville
28806
United States of America |
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