Learning from Slavic Village: A Report from Ground Zero of the Foreclosure Crisis
When Anthony Trzaska hears or reads “Slavic Village” in news reports, he knows what is coming next.
You Must Be This Tall To Ride In Detroit
You live in New York and you’ve seen a billboard encouraging you to move to Detroit.
A Tree Hugger’s Guide To The Forest Dynamics of Northeast Ohio
About twenty miles east of downtown Cleveland, there is a stand of forest with trees older than the U.S. government.
The Season of Reanimation, Cannibalism, and Profligate Orgies: Consider the Wood Frog
On a cold wet night, practically still winter, wood frogs are improbably crawling out onto the dark road. These frogs are about two-inches long with tan bodies and dark robber’s masks.
Harvey & Me: Uninteresting Phone Call
Harvey & Me, a comic series appearing in Belt about Harvey Pekar, written by Anne Elizabeth Moore and Illustrated by Melissa Mendes. This installment, "Uninteresting Phone Call"
What Is A Detroit Hipster, Anyway?
I am 30 years old, a fan of top-shelf cocktails and Chuck Taylors, and a Detroit resident. I like live music, and I tend to know about new art galleries before the rest of my friends. Could I be a hipster? Maybe. I’m not quite sure.
The Rise and Mysterious Fall of the Prehistoric King of Cleveland
Lurking in the dark corners of Cleveland history: the Dunkleosteus. (From 2015).
Silence of the City: Why Isn’t Cleveland Speaking Out About Police Violence?
Hardly anyone noticed this last one. There were a few articles in the Plain Dealer and the national press jumped in a bit, and some of his friends and relatives did put some foil balloons and prayer candles on a telephone pole ...
God, Baseball, and the Mystery of the Disappearing Novel: Nancy Willard’s “Things Invisible to See”
In the 1989 film Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who plows down a section of his cornfield to build a baseball field that’s soon populated by the ghosts of players past.
Reading the Midwest: Mike Royko
By Mark Athitakis Old newspaper habits die hard. Across the country, papers still retain a local news columnist – Mitch [...]
Introducing The Rust Belt Bestiary
I grew up in Akron in the 1980s – the decade the Rubber City lost 8,000 factory jobs and the Ohio exurbs swallowed 13 acres of farmland per hour. Despite growing up in nadir of the Rust Belt’s environmental health and biodiversity ...
Is Ohio Ready For A Big Predator Comeback?
On a desolate January night last year, as the snow fell in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, I got up from the dinner table, threw my cross-country skis in the car and headed to the Towpath Trail.