First published 2024
Belt Publishing curates a decade of personal narratives from America's industrial heartland. The collection spans cities from Pittsburgh to Gary, Chicago to St. Louis, Milwaukee to Cleveland. Writers document lived experiences in a region often reduced to political shorthand like "blue wall" or "Trump country." The essays explore growing up in segregated St. Louis and examine coded Islamophobia in southern Michigan. Contributors include LaToya Ruby Frazier, Connie Schultz, Brian Broome, Megan Stielstra, Vivian Gibson, Aaron Foley, Kathleen Rooney, Sarah Kendzior, and Phil Christman. Belt Publishing has spent ten years amplifying voices from communities across the Rust Belt, prioritizing stories from people who actually live in these places. The anthology challenges external perceptions by centering internal perspectives. These essays reveal the human connections that bind a region together beyond political labels or economic categories.
Genres: anthologies, american, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, internal-perspective
Setting: Chicago, Cleveland, Gary, Michigan, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, St. Louis
Period: Decade
253 pages · Kindle Edition · Belt Publishing