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The Stone Skipping Philosopher
Kurt Steiner holds the world record for stone skipping. He does it because it makes him happy. And because he says it’s key to escaping digital self-saturation.
The Cost of Loss at WVU
Losing the entire world languages program may simplify a spreadsheet, but it will also send talented West Virginians outside state lines for better opportunities.
Drumming Up Cleveland Baseball
The 70s were tough for Cleveland. And they were especially tough for the Indians.
Langston Hughes’ Radical Ohio Youth
To Hughes, America has never achieved its potential. Never reached the supposed promises enumerated in the nation’s founding documents.
On Curiosity, Empathy, and the Flavor of Beer
As craft beer and other artisan food and beverage industries reckon with their lack of diversity and seek to court new demographics, this posture of reciprocal learning and the empathy and curiosity that go with it can serve as an invitation.
Belt Summer Reads ’23
Some of our favorite reads from this past year.
“As Tough as the Steel We Produced”
There seems to be a complex equation that residents have to live with, a struggle between acknowledging the past and hoping for the future while demonstrating their community’s resilience. A necessity of crafting out a tomorrow in the rust.
Putting Down Roots
A poem by Elaine Elizabeth Belz.
Charting the Pittsburgh Novel with Jake Oresick
"I do appreciate titles that use the terrain instead of making their characters sit inside. I also enjoy titles that reveal the parts of our region that outsiders are unlikely to see, like Homewood, Butler, or old school, residential Oakland. Yinzers don't gaze down from Grandview Avenue all day like the movies would have you believe."
Hatchet-Throwing in Forgotten Places
I get sentimental about places, especially forgotten ones like Monarch Park. They’re a bit of a bummer, a bit sobering, a bit sad. But I think it’s a good kind of sadness.
What You Want Comes Easy Or At Least Feels Like It
A poem by Kynala Phillips.
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