The Akron Anthology
Edited by Jason Segedy
Belt Publishing October 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9968367-3-9
“The collection of 22 essays is a must-read for anyone who cares about this city.” — Bob Dyer, Akron Beacon Journal
“The Akron Anthology … brings together the many diverse voices of Akron to paint a colorful image of the city that many of us call home.” — Melanie Anderson, The Devil Strip
Between 1910 and 1920, Akron, Ohio, was the fastest growing city in the United States, tripling in size and exploding from a population of 69,000 to 208,000. Its period of rapid growth coincided with the expansion of the rubber and tire industry, which, in turn, corresponded with that of the automobile industry. But since the mid-1970s, industry has abandoned Akron, and the city has lost 31% of its population. Once-opulent neighborhoods are now swaths of abandoned homes; the factories that made Akron the Rubber Capitol of the World lie dormant. What happened? What next? The Akron Anthology aims to find out.
Edited by Jason Segedy with an introduction by David Giffels and contributions from Rita Dove, Andrew Poulsen, Denise Grollmus, and and many more. See complete Table of Contents below.
Table of Contents
Note from the Editor, by Jason Segedy
Here on the Ground: An Introduction, by David Giffels
“When Are You Coming Home?”, by Pat Jarrett
A Tavern in the Shire, by L.S. Quin
Simple Needs, by Greg Milo
The Ghosts I Run With, by Matt Tullis
For New Refugees, Akron is More Than a Place, It’s a Home, by Maria Mancinelli
Cool But Not Too Cool: The Allure of Akron, by Roza Maille
The Doorman Diaries, by Jeff Shearl
Akron’s Audio Alchemist, by Andrew Poulsen
Confessions of a Rust Belt Orphan (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Akron), by Jason Segedy
RIP, Unknown Skeletal Remains, by Jennifer Conn
Archie the Snowman, by Joanna Wilson
Major Steps, by Rita Dove
Butts Up, by Mike Gruss
You’ll Find It Off Market Street, by Eric Wasserman
The Capital of West Virginia, by Patricia Fann
Happy, Happy Jesus Hello, by Matthew Meduri
BF. by Liesl Schwabe
Foreclosures and Vampire Devils: A Guide to Buying a Home in Akron, by Chris Drabick
Snapshots From a Rock ’n’ Roll Marriage, by Denise Grollmus
Bombing Run, by Kyle Cochrun
There’s No Place Like Home, by Emilia Strong Sykes
Hail to the King, by Matt Stansberry
Support independent, context-driven regional writing.