Article in the Chicago Reader by Kerri Cardoza,10/30/24

Headline: “Complicating the Rust Belt”

Subhead: “New Belt anthology is a welcome antidote to the mainstream media’s parachute reporting”

“The Rust Belt, the postindustrial midwest, flyover country. Are these terms—which describe the area roughly from Wisconsin to Buffalo, New York—useful anymore? Were they ever? Every four years, the mainstream media parachutes into Small Town, USA to paint in broad, generic strokes what “real America” is like, imbuing the area with the power to sway presidential elections though not important enough to pay much attention to otherwise.

“Since 2013, Belt Publishing has done the opposite—it has invested in writers and writing that go deep into the heart of middle America. Their titles cover everything from a West Virginia teachers’ strike to a history of Arab Americans in Indianapolis to a deep dive into Chicago’s house music scene.”

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/complicating-best-of-the-rust-belt/