Trump Isn’t Pittsburgh’s President
First he came for the cast of Hamilton, but I did not speak out, for I am not in the cast of Hamilton. Then he came for Meryl Streep, but I did not speak out, for I am not certified national treasure Meryl Streep.
Call for Submissions: The Columbus Anthology!
Although Columbus is the capital city of the state of Ohio, it does not live in the national imagination the way older Ohio cities, such as Cincinnati and Cleveland, do. They have secured a distinct cultural presence for themselves, while Columbus is still becoming - and rapidly.
How to Win Reparations
Somewhere between his 12th and 13th hour inside a Chicago Police interrogation room, Lindsey Smith decided to confess to a murder he didn’t commit. The year was 1972. Multiple officers had pistol-whipped, stomped on and beaten him, again and again.
Beyond ‘White Flight’
What the history of one Cleveland neighborhood can teach us about race and housing inequality.
A New Book By Cleveland Teens, And Belt’s Publishing Services
Over the past few months, Belt Publishing has been working with Lake Erie Ink: a writing space for youth, to produce a book. Home / Away from Home: A Collection of Writing By Cleveland Teens will be available June 2.
Buffalo, New York’s Midwest Identity
Buffalo, NY isn't always considered to be part of the Midwest, but in Belt Publishing's How To Speak Midwestern, author Edward McClelland defines the area as the land west of Exit 41 on the New York State Thruway, east of the Missouri River, and north of the Ohio River.
Introduction to the Detroit Neighborhood Guidebook
No matter how many books are done about Detroit, it’s still impossible to capture this city’s ethos into a finite number of pages. But damn if we don’t come close sometimes.
Pullman and Ideal Communities in Chicago, the Rust Belt, and Beyond
I’m obvious, driving slowly down the residential side streets on Chicago’s South side, looking left and right at the Victorian-style homes in Pullman. Though I have lived in Chicagoland all my life, I am seeing this neighborhood for the first time.
Introduction: Beyond The Belt
Chicago is built on a foundation of meat and railroads and steel, on opportunity and exploitation. But while its identity long ago expanded beyond manufacturing ...
Making Music in Buffalo
Our story begins with a chance meeting in Buffalo at Nietzsche’s. It was a winter Sunday afternoon in 1988 and both of our groups were scheduled to play together.
The Whiskey Rebellion and the Rebirth of Rye: A Pittsburgh Story
Coming in November 2017 from Belt Publishing, Meredith Meyer Grelli's The Whiskey Rebellion and the Rebirth of Rye: A Pittsburgh Story is [...]
Forthcoming in 2018: The New Old Town: Early Gentrification in Chicago
The story was the same in Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Chicago: once-booming cities had started to shrink. Historic neighborhoods [...]