The Year Ceramics Took Cincinnati
Cincinnati is one of the best places in America to be an artist now because of a combination of low cost of living and a vibrant arts community.
Dreaming of Chicago with “The Bear”
The untamed energy of the show woke something in me. Carmy’s life in Chicago was real. Authentic. Social. I knew that restaurant and those people. How many times had I eaten at a joint like that?
Trent Reznor’s Conflicted Rust Belt Legacy
Trent Reznor never mentioned the Johnstown Flood in his interviews on MTV, though he would’ve learned about it the same way any other Rust Belt boy does...He never mentioned that he was a rich boy surrounded by a world his ancestors got tricked into helping destroy.
Painting the Past on the Ohio River
You can put your finger on a map and trace it down the Ohio River. From Steubenville to Paducah, it’s nearly a thousand miles, an artery pumping through the heart of America.
James Purdy’s Outrages Against the Establishment
Purdy’s harshest words were consistently aimed at the literary apparatus that he felt was inherently unable to appreciate his formally deliberate but thematically audacious fiction.
Unspooling the Cassette Tape in Springfield, Missouri
The National Audio Company is keeping the cassette tape —and tape culture —alive in the Midwest and around the world. [...]
The Nature of Chicago Music
Music and nature are two core places where people report to experiencing and channeling the divine.
Under Kaufmann’s Clock
On Families, Department Stores, and America
Sharpsburg, PA – Past, Present, Future
The past, present, and future coexist simultaneously in Sharpsburg, and for the moment, one hasn’t pushed the other out.
Loretta Lynn, Made in Appalachia
Seventy-seven songs on the charts over the years, 16 number one hits, 45 million albums sold and number one female country artist of all time.
Call for Submissions: Cincinnati Neighborhood Guidebook
Announcing the Cincinnati Neighborhood Guidebook, to be published by Belt Publishing.
Call for Submissions: Pittsburgh Neighborhood Guidebook
Announcing the Pittsburgh Neighborhood Guidebook, to be published by Belt Publishing.