The Gritty Realism of Genre Artist David Gilmour Blythe
In the 1940’s, a Pittsburgh steel baron named G. David Thompson began collecting the paintings of an obscure 19th century artist, David Gilmour Blythe.
The Pittsburgh Anthology! Call for Proposals and Submissions
Let’s show ‘em what Pittsburgh is made of. And no, it isn't all steel. Belt magazine is continuing their successful series of Rust Belt anthologies (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Youngstown) with a collection on the City of Champions.
Shawarma with a Side of Culture, Controversy: Pittsburgh’s Conflict Kitchen Feels the Heat
Dawn Weleski was on a flight to Houston to attend a conference when she got word that Conflict Kitchen, the critically acclaimed restaurant-qua-public art project she runs with Carnegie Mellon art professor Jon Rubin
An Interview With Amy Jo Burns, Author of Cinderland
Amy Jo Burns is the author of Cinderland, a memoir about coming of age in a small town in Western Pennsylvania while carrying the burden of a lie.
Sweeping the Streets: Poetry and Boxing in Pittsburgh
Jimmy Cvetic, also known as “the Dog”, is a boxing trainer, ex-police detective—and prolific poet.
Population Ain’t Nothing But a Number: Standardizing the Size of the Great American City
Conventional wisdom holds that the larger the population of a city, the more successful the place must be. If the population’s growing, that city must be doing something right. If it’s withering, it must be in decline.
The Legacy of Literature in Pittsburgh
A look at how writing and reading local catalyzes culture, and helps cities like Pittsburgh revise their narratives.
A Sense of What a City Was: A History of Rust Belt Alt-Weeklies
The fast times and hard lives of alt-weekly newspapers in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati.
André Costello — On the Bill
Rustbelt Almanac interviews Andre Costello about music and making it in Pittsburgh.
Stewart O’Nan: Pittsburgh’s Novelist Of The Everyday
Among works about the lower rungs of the middle class, Stewart O’Nan’s novels stand out.
Is There a Rust Belt Cuisine?
From Pierogis To Locally Grown Kimchi