Shaker To Asiatown: The Cleveland Bikepath Review
I live in Shaker Heights, on a tree-lined street between the high school and the library, and I work in Asiatown, between the Thai restaurants and the board-ups.
D.L.I.V.E – Rebuilding The Lives Of Gunshot Victims In Detroit
In a small conference room at Detroit Medical Center’s Sinai Grace Hospital, violence intervention specialist Ray Winans asks a roomful of young African Americans if they know anyone who has been killed by gunshots.
Check Out the Cover For The Chicago Anthology
We’re unveiling the cover for Belt Publishing’s forthcoming Rust Belt Chicago: An Anthology, and we couldn’t be more excited. The cover was designed by legendary Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick, known for his style of vibrant collages.
A Blue Bird Lands In Flint And We Do Not Call It Redemption
Even though this is about a bird – miraculous blue jewel, transfiguration in a city backyard – it begins with a crash in the middle of the night.
‘Are yinz goin’ to read this?’ A Guide to Pittsburghese
By Edward McClelland No Midwestern city is more conscious than Pittsburgh of the way it speaks—or, more accurately, the way [...]
Be the First to Get Belt’s ‘Detroit Neighborhood Guidebook’!
The Detroit Neighborhood Guidebook is ready for pre-order! If you loved A Detroit Anthology and How to Live in Detroit Without Being a [...]
The Great Lakes are sicker than we think
By Matt Stansberry In The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, journalist Dan Egan makes the case that the [...]
From the Editor: We’re All In This Together
Last summer I was at the Soggy Bottom Bar in downtown Flint, Michigan for the launch of Happy Anyway: A Flint Anthology, which I had edited, and author Aaron Foley and I were doing the very cool thing of signing each other’s books.
Grand Rapids Grassroots: An Anthology – Call For Submissions
Ashley E. Nickels and Dani Vilella have joined forces to compile articles, poetry, and personal narratives about and by Grand [...]
Living LGBT in the Midwest in the Time of Trump
I’ve tried over and over and over to try and push out some thoughts about gay life in the Midwest. What exactly is there to be said that would help outsiders understand what we’re like around these parts? I keep coming up short.
Urban Greenways: Stalking the Ruins of Pittsburgh
Nestled within some of Pittsburgh’s many wooded hillsides, or “greenways,” are dark corners that harbor vestiges of long demolished houses, city blocks, and even whole neighborhoods.
Snippets of Lee-Harvard in the 70s
My old neighborhood, Lee-Harvard, now referred to as Lee-Miles, is quieter and, like the rest of Cleveland, less populated than it was in the 70s. I remember the hustle and bustle of the city then, but people look at me like I’m crazy when I refer to Cleveland’s former status as a major U.S. city.