more than snail mail
Literary site The Rumpus launches monthly "Letters in the Mail" subscription
TheRumpus.net is more than a literary blog; founded by writer Stephen Elliott in 2008, the site collects some of the best creative writing and cultural commentary on the web. Over the past few years they’ve created a close-knit community of readers, and now they’re branching out bring The Rumpus to you via print subscriptions. These monthly mailings won’t contain newsletters or books; the subscription, announced today, delivers letters from writers and artists directly to your mailbox. It’s like email – but much more satisfying.
“Letters in the Mail” is priced at just $5/month. The Rumpus has already revealed some of the participants you’ll be hearing from:
Letter writers will include Marc Maron, Stephen Elliott, Janet Fitch, Nick Flynn, Margaret Cho, Cheryl Strayed, Wendy MacNaughton, Emily Gould, and Jonathan Ames. Think of it as the letters you used to get from your creative friends, before this whole internet/email thing.
It may seem a bit retro, sending snail mail. But who doesn’t love opening the mailbox to find something other than bills or coupons? And when your personally addressed letter comes from someone like podcasting superstar Marc Maron, or Bored to Death creator Jonathan Ames, it's like you're holding intellectual conversations in ink with your far-flung friends.
The Rumpus is known for giving brilliant voices a public forum; for example, their anonymous advice columnist, Dear Sugar, is one of the most honest, endearing and inspiring online writers out there, and the long-running Funny Women series regularly publishes talented new authors.
The Rumpus’ book club, founded last year, is another monthly subscription service offering readers an advance chance to check out editors' favorite forthcoming titles. For $25/month, you get a copy of an as-yet-unreleased book (fiction or poetry, depending on the plan you choose). During the month, readers log in and discuss with other club members; no cheesy titles, no boring meetings, just great works and even better input from fellow subscribers.
With so many great names involved with The Rumpus’ events, podcasts and blogs, we can’t wait to see whose words arrive in our mailbox each month. Maybe it’ll even inspire us to write more letters, ourselves.