"...that has felt like the trap of this country, too. The idea that it could ever live up to its ideals, a carrot held over a bear trap." Novelist, essayist, poet, and journalist @alexanderchee.bsky.social attempts to answer the question What is Freedom for our newest column. ➡️ buff.ly/UvoZu8V

"Recovery is never linear. You take two steps forward and three back. You start again each day. I wanted the book to feel like that." A Millennial’s Anthem on Travel and Multiplicity: M. D. McIntyre interviews Cinelle Barnes about A Way Home. ➡️ buff.ly/GZLOu76

"They riff with your hips as you coax / caramel to a simmer on the stove, / the anthers of son cubano. / Shocked gourds. Handheld onomatopoeias." From "Maracas," a new poem by Chloe Cook. ➡️ buff.ly/0PyT4Ga

"We carry so much fear in our bodies. We carry so much love." From "A Potion for Sadness," a new essay by @meganstielstra.bsky.social. ➡️ buff.ly/iqH5KkH

"That’s how this place survives / by staying useful, by staying quiet, / by knowing exactly how much can be buried / before the tide turns." rom "Low Tide, County Line," a new poem by Glora Ogo. ➡️ buff.ly/2wDXfsn

"Freedom is the opportunity for each person to have what they need to move towards who they want to be." Creative writing professor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, activist, and historian Sarah Schulman attempts to answer the question, What is Freedom. ➡️ buff.ly/QUXDUDF

"a wood slab divorced from a tree / displays bare insides / forthright as an organ / with no covering / bald without remorse" From "senescence," a new poem by @shirad.bsky.social. ➡️ buff.ly/XxR4clL

"This is the book I wish I had when I was starting my journey as an African feminist." What African Feminism Makes Possible: Leslie-Ann Murray interviews Minna Salami about Feminist Freedom (@cornellupress.bsky.social). ➡️ buff.ly/YwnYCCh

"...that was what salt did: made things taste more like themselves. That was the world right now: more itself than it had been ever before." From "Nicolas in Reverse," a new short story by @matthewwollin.bksy.social. ➡️ buff.ly/D3T6kZF

"I write about the things I can’t forget." This is What I Survived: @janetrodriguez.bsky.social interviews Reyna Grande about Corazón Migrante (Migrant Heart). ❤️ buff.ly/scAnQfT

"That summer, she truly was my best friend. And I fucking hated her." From "Helen," a new short story by Pamela Bennett. ➡️ buff.ly/wJoiYed

"I think of you whenever someone is so in love they demand to stop the world which is another way out forgive me god forgive me for this doorway I have built on my own" From "SHOULD’VE KILLED ME WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE," one of three new poems by Hanif Abdurraqib. ➡️ buff.ly/AHgDz4h

"Freedom. What a concept." As part of our new series What is Freedom, Shirley Manson, lead vocalist for the alt-rock Wisconsin-based band Garbage (@garbagedisco.com), echoes wise words from the past to answer the question. 🎸 buff.ly/4pn9S9b

"I tried to step into her shoes sometimes to see what I could’ve done as a mother, but I couldn’t picture it. Motherhood is a practice, not an imagination." From "Her Bitterness: A Woman's Choice," a new essay by Xinyi Song. 🕯️: buff.ly/Ey0i12v

"New avenues of thought open up to me while I'm writing manually. The sensory experience is important—hand, paper, ink." Our next Letter in the Mail comes from Sonia Feldman, author of Girl's Girl (@thedialpress.bsky.social ). ✉️: buff.ly/k6kYl3K

"I saw carryouts as really precarious places and also places filled with life and stories and a community stage." Writing Nostalgia, Absurdity, and Displacement: Reena Shah interviews Hasan Dudar about Carryout (University of Iowa Press). ➡️ buff.ly/dUxUzL9

"The cold truth-telling of a sixth-grade girl could shame a tundra." From "Sleepovers," a new comic by @thekateisenberg.bsky.social. ➡️ buff.ly/K0VBudU

"Liberty is shackled, and we need to do everything we can to reverse that." As part of our new series What is Freedom, activist and graphic designer @obeygiant.bsky.social uses his preferred artistic medium to answer the question. View the full piece and accompanying mini-essay at buff.ly/ymy1iq8

“Here we witness space, not as a commodity, but as an outpouring, an offering in and of itself.” A New Book Review: Natalie Coe reviews @oliverbaezbendorf.bsky.social’s latest poetry collection Consider the Rooster (Nightboat Books). 🐓 buff.ly/6v8os7S

"Her collarbones cast new shadows over new concavities, contours born of new proportions. A figure she cultivated so carefully that the mirage almost feels real." From "Wake of Weight," a new essay by Alisha Steigerwald. ➡️ buff.ly/mPnO0Bo

"Inside me my rights / were a tight fist. I would not open / my fingers no matter how hard / boys and men tried to pry them apart." From "All Night I Dreamed," one of three new poems by @emilyhockaday.bsky.social. ➡️ buff.ly/CDbZOmQ

"...FREEDOM FROM still needs work." As part of our new series What is Freedom, historian and author Nell Irvin Painter attempts to answer the question. ➡️ buff.ly/2coSrSp

"When Debbie and I took the helm of The Rumpus, supporting writers and editors was one of our most fervent ambitions. To that end, we have launched...the Rumpus/Harnisch Microgrants, Writing Fellowships, and Editorial Fellowships." ➡️ buff.ly/QttNcNS

"Full freedom is a beautiful thing to watch, in action, when you are close enough to observe it." From our new series What Is Freedom, Lydia Davis attempts to answer the question for herself. 🐈️ buff.ly/1jy2sEi

"Your commands were parental. The camera clicks applause. Your guidance filled a void." From "F-Stop," a new short story by @yvonnec.bsky.social. ➡️ buff.ly/A8IG7wl

"The only moment / I’m sure I’m safe / is when I’m pulling / my I.V. bag / through the parking lot / my arm blooming / with bruises / my nose swollen with tube." From "In Good Health," one of three new poems by @gkhudson.bsky.social. ➡️ buff.ly/i4uNU0R

"Freedom is learning to recognize and understand the real difference between illusion and the reality of being free." First up in our new series What is Freedom is Vincent Valdez, using his media within visual art to define what freedom means to him. ⛓️‍💥 buff.ly/sCVGAT9

"Could it be true / the art people make about death / is more profound than dying could ever be?" From "Leaving Paradise," a new poem by @lenamschmitt.bsky.social. ➡️ buff.ly/HIKqRyF

"We cannot surrender to patriotism without context, and solidarity without atonement." We're launching a series called What is Freedom, where we ask a range of creative people to define freedom in whatever way they choose. Read the full statement about the series: buff.ly/YQAsbkI

"I have to remind myself that not every question has to be answered, and not every detail has to be a clue. The heart meanders. The heart can be nonsensical." Untying the Silence: Geoff Graser interviews @davinmalasarn.bsky.social about The Outer Country (One World). ➡️ buff.ly/15INvzA