Rust Belt Magazine
@beltmagazine.bsky.social
An independent digital magazine by and for the Rust Belt. https://beltmag.com/
Through 12/31, #NewsMatch matches all new monthly and one-time gifts, up to $1,000, and recurring monthly gifts are matched 12 times! Your $5/month gift unlocks $60 in matching funds – which goes straight to paying writers for their work! Can we count on you?
Give today: beltmag.com/membership/
Give today: beltmag.com/membership/
Membership - Belt Magazine
beltmag.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Through 12/31, #NewsMatch matches all new monthly and one-time gifts, up to $1,000, and recurring monthly gifts are matched 12 times! Your $5/month gift unlocks $60 in matching funds – which goes straight to paying writers for their work! Can we count on you?
Give today: beltmag.com/membership/
Give today: beltmag.com/membership/
This month, we're sharing a group of Rust Belt-oriented pieces recently published at our newly-launched publication, the Pittsburgh Review of Books (PRoB).
PRoB isn't only focused on our region, but part of our mission is to introduce this region to the world (and vice versa).
www.beltmag.com
PRoB isn't only focused on our region, but part of our mission is to introduce this region to the world (and vice versa).
www.beltmag.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:01 PM
This month, we're sharing a group of Rust Belt-oriented pieces recently published at our newly-launched publication, the Pittsburgh Review of Books (PRoB).
PRoB isn't only focused on our region, but part of our mission is to introduce this region to the world (and vice versa).
www.beltmag.com
PRoB isn't only focused on our region, but part of our mission is to introduce this region to the world (and vice versa).
www.beltmag.com
"The iceberg shuddered, a deep crack split the surface, wide as a shoe, closer now, spiderwebbing toward the three of them. The ship hull strained against the ice, an ancient, animal shriek."
Read "Endure" by Anthony Swofford, based on a photo by Huck Beard. beltmag.com/endure/
Read "Endure" by Anthony Swofford, based on a photo by Huck Beard. beltmag.com/endure/
October 16, 2025 at 3:43 PM
"The iceberg shuddered, a deep crack split the surface, wide as a shoe, closer now, spiderwebbing toward the three of them. The ship hull strained against the ice, an ancient, animal shriek."
Read "Endure" by Anthony Swofford, based on a photo by Huck Beard. beltmag.com/endure/
Read "Endure" by Anthony Swofford, based on a photo by Huck Beard. beltmag.com/endure/
A group of Pittsburgh writers recently convened in the historic Pump House in Munhall to share pieces created in response to the evocative photographs of Huck Beard. We’ll be sharing them this week, back from our hiatus, now publishing as Rust Belt Magazine.
beltmag.com/october-2025/
beltmag.com/october-2025/
October 2025 - Belt Magazine
By Ed Simon On an autumnal evening in mid-September of 2025, Carnegie Mellon University creative writing professor and accomplished novelist Sharon Dilworth convened a reading which included herself a...
beltmag.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:16 PM
A group of Pittsburgh writers recently convened in the historic Pump House in Munhall to share pieces created in response to the evocative photographs of Huck Beard. We’ll be sharing them this week, back from our hiatus, now publishing as Rust Belt Magazine.
beltmag.com/october-2025/
beltmag.com/october-2025/
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
“More than in the subject matter we publish, or literally where we’re headquartered, the 'Pittsburgh' in The Pittsburgh Review of Books is a matter of mentality, of perspective...”
We're live! Read a message from our founder and Editor-in-Chief, Ed Simon.
pghrev.com/the-foundry-...
We're live! Read a message from our founder and Editor-in-Chief, Ed Simon.
pghrev.com/the-foundry-...
A New Magazine of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Review of Books
The first printing-press in Pittsburgh was purchased by the aspiring newspaper editors John Scull and Joseph Hall from a manufacturer in Philadelphia; it took
pghrev.com
September 3, 2025 at 2:37 PM
“More than in the subject matter we publish, or literally where we’re headquartered, the 'Pittsburgh' in The Pittsburgh Review of Books is a matter of mentality, of perspective...”
We're live! Read a message from our founder and Editor-in-Chief, Ed Simon.
pghrev.com/the-foundry-...
We're live! Read a message from our founder and Editor-in-Chief, Ed Simon.
pghrev.com/the-foundry-...
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
A sit-down strike is not an obsolete tactic. It’s a blueprint for better working conditions, and for a revival of the middle class. The tumultuous Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937 at General Motors is proof of that. #LaborDay @beltmagazine.bsky.social
Labor Lessons from the Flint Sit-Down Strike
The strike, which helped guide the UAW to prominence in the twentieth century, provides a blueprint for better working conditions and a revival of the middle class.
buff.ly
September 1, 2025 at 4:05 PM
A sit-down strike is not an obsolete tactic. It’s a blueprint for better working conditions, and for a revival of the middle class. The tumultuous Flint sit-down strike of 1936-1937 at General Motors is proof of that. #LaborDay @beltmagazine.bsky.social
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
An interdisciplinary humanities periodical housed in Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and published by @cmuenglish.bsky.social, PRoB will feature essays, reviews, interviews, and excerpts engaging with salient and pressing issues. Launching Sept. 3!
August 21, 2025 at 3:14 PM
An interdisciplinary humanities periodical housed in Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and published by @cmuenglish.bsky.social, PRoB will feature essays, reviews, interviews, and excerpts engaging with salient and pressing issues. Launching Sept. 3!
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
A new hub for literature! The Pittsburgh Review of Books will be both in Pittsburgh (and the Rust Belt) and of the wider world; a means of introducing the region’s vibrant literary community into national conversations as well as bringing those conversations here.
beltmag.com/introducing-...
beltmag.com/introducing-...
Introducing the Pittsburgh Review of Books - Belt Magazine
Belt Magazine Becomes Rust Belt Magazine While Getting a New Publishing Partner.
beltmag.com
July 1, 2025 at 12:05 PM
A new hub for literature! The Pittsburgh Review of Books will be both in Pittsburgh (and the Rust Belt) and of the wider world; a means of introducing the region’s vibrant literary community into national conversations as well as bringing those conversations here.
beltmag.com/introducing-...
beltmag.com/introducing-...
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
"I know people tend to hunt and peck in short story collections, but I think of it more like a record album. I present it as a whole."
Thanks to @beltmagazine.bsky.social for this interview with AHP Author @sherrieflick.bsky.social!
Thanks to @beltmagazine.bsky.social for this interview with AHP Author @sherrieflick.bsky.social!
A conversation between Bill Lychack and @sherrieflick.bsky.social, in which the latter discusses the mystery of bears, the art of joy in writing and life, and her new collection of stories, “I Have Not Considered Consequences” (Autumn House Press, 2025)
beltmag.com/considering-...
beltmag.com/considering-...
Considering Consequences with Sherrie Flick - Belt Magazine
A conversation with Sherrie Flick, in which the author talks the mystery of bears, the art of joy in writing and life, and her new collections of stories, "I Have Not Considered Consequences" (Autumn ...
beltmag.com
July 2, 2025 at 2:31 PM
"I know people tend to hunt and peck in short story collections, but I think of it more like a record album. I present it as a whole."
Thanks to @beltmagazine.bsky.social for this interview with AHP Author @sherrieflick.bsky.social!
Thanks to @beltmagazine.bsky.social for this interview with AHP Author @sherrieflick.bsky.social!
A new hub for literature! The Pittsburgh Review of Books will be both in Pittsburgh (and the Rust Belt) and of the wider world; a means of introducing the region’s vibrant literary community into national conversations as well as bringing those conversations here.
beltmag.com/introducing-...
beltmag.com/introducing-...
Introducing the Pittsburgh Review of Books - Belt Magazine
Belt Magazine Becomes Rust Belt Magazine While Getting a New Publishing Partner.
beltmag.com
July 1, 2025 at 12:05 PM
A new hub for literature! The Pittsburgh Review of Books will be both in Pittsburgh (and the Rust Belt) and of the wider world; a means of introducing the region’s vibrant literary community into national conversations as well as bringing those conversations here.
beltmag.com/introducing-...
beltmag.com/introducing-...
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
I had a great talk with the amazing Bill Lychack about my new story collection 🐻 Up at the also amazing Belt Magazine
@autumnhousepress.bsky.social
@autumnhousepress.bsky.social
A conversation between Bill Lychack and @sherrieflick.bsky.social, in which the latter discusses the mystery of bears, the art of joy in writing and life, and her new collection of stories, “I Have Not Considered Consequences” (Autumn House Press, 2025)
beltmag.com/considering-...
beltmag.com/considering-...
Considering Consequences with Sherrie Flick - Belt Magazine
A conversation with Sherrie Flick, in which the author talks the mystery of bears, the art of joy in writing and life, and her new collections of stories, "I Have Not Considered Consequences" (Autumn ...
beltmag.com
June 30, 2025 at 7:49 PM
I had a great talk with the amazing Bill Lychack about my new story collection 🐻 Up at the also amazing Belt Magazine
@autumnhousepress.bsky.social
@autumnhousepress.bsky.social
A conversation between Bill Lychack and @sherrieflick.bsky.social, in which the latter discusses the mystery of bears, the art of joy in writing and life, and her new collection of stories, “I Have Not Considered Consequences” (Autumn House Press, 2025)
beltmag.com/considering-...
beltmag.com/considering-...
Considering Consequences with Sherrie Flick - Belt Magazine
A conversation with Sherrie Flick, in which the author talks the mystery of bears, the art of joy in writing and life, and her new collections of stories, "I Have Not Considered Consequences" (Autumn ...
beltmag.com
June 30, 2025 at 2:08 PM
A conversation between Bill Lychack and @sherrieflick.bsky.social, in which the latter discusses the mystery of bears, the art of joy in writing and life, and her new collection of stories, “I Have Not Considered Consequences” (Autumn House Press, 2025)
beltmag.com/considering-...
beltmag.com/considering-...
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
“That’s how they mark the restroom doors here,
Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar
was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry.”
Read “Hymns & Hers” and three other poems by Kristofer Collins.
beltmag.com/four-poems-b...
Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar
was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry.”
Read “Hymns & Hers” and three other poems by Kristofer Collins.
beltmag.com/four-poems-b...
Four Poems by Kris Collins - Belt Magazine
Hymns & Hers That’s how they mark the restroom doors here, Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry. Frank J. Boyle cut the marble here and delivered the head...
beltmag.com
June 27, 2025 at 11:28 AM
“That’s how they mark the restroom doors here,
Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar
was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry.”
Read “Hymns & Hers” and three other poems by Kristofer Collins.
beltmag.com/four-poems-b...
Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar
was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry.”
Read “Hymns & Hers” and three other poems by Kristofer Collins.
beltmag.com/four-poems-b...
“That’s how they mark the restroom doors here,
Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar
was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry.”
Read “Hymns & Hers” and three other poems by Kristofer Collins.
beltmag.com/four-poems-b...
Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar
was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry.”
Read “Hymns & Hers” and three other poems by Kristofer Collins.
beltmag.com/four-poems-b...
Four Poems by Kris Collins - Belt Magazine
Hymns & Hers That’s how they mark the restroom doors here, Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry. Frank J. Boyle cut the marble here and delivered the head...
beltmag.com
June 27, 2025 at 11:28 AM
“That’s how they mark the restroom doors here,
Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar
was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry.”
Read “Hymns & Hers” and three other poems by Kristofer Collins.
beltmag.com/four-poems-b...
Hymns and Hers. When I was a kid this bar
was a funeral home. Prior that a foundry.”
Read “Hymns & Hers” and three other poems by Kristofer Collins.
beltmag.com/four-poems-b...
“Keweenaw County, Michigan, once the heart of America’s copper mining industry, now stands as a quiet testament to the rise and fall of an industrial empire.”
Read “Keweenaw County’s Echoes of Copper Mining” by Paul Gordon.
beltmag.com/keweenaw-cou...
Read “Keweenaw County’s Echoes of Copper Mining” by Paul Gordon.
beltmag.com/keweenaw-cou...
Keweenaw County’s Echoes of Copper Mining - Belt Magazine
Keweenaw County, Michigan, once the heart of America’s copper mining industry, now stands as a quiet testament to the rise and fall of an industrial empire.
beltmag.com
June 26, 2025 at 1:50 PM
“Keweenaw County, Michigan, once the heart of America’s copper mining industry, now stands as a quiet testament to the rise and fall of an industrial empire.”
Read “Keweenaw County’s Echoes of Copper Mining” by Paul Gordon.
beltmag.com/keweenaw-cou...
Read “Keweenaw County’s Echoes of Copper Mining” by Paul Gordon.
beltmag.com/keweenaw-cou...
"The film was a proper history lesson for me, the piano, a tangible symbol of a not-so-distant time when people were auctioned and enslaved, sold and sent away from their families in exchange for an instrument."
Michael Bennett on the work of August Wilson.
beltmag.com/relearning-t...
Michael Bennett on the work of August Wilson.
beltmag.com/relearning-t...
Relearning “The Piano Lesson” - Belt Magazine
The more of Wilson’s plays I read, the more I appreciated The Piano Lesson for its stark symbols and robust characters: Boy Willie and his determination to buy the land his ancestors had slaved on; Be...
beltmag.com
June 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
"The film was a proper history lesson for me, the piano, a tangible symbol of a not-so-distant time when people were auctioned and enslaved, sold and sent away from their families in exchange for an instrument."
Michael Bennett on the work of August Wilson.
beltmag.com/relearning-t...
Michael Bennett on the work of August Wilson.
beltmag.com/relearning-t...
“Charles Goodyear
sowed as many seeds
as John Chapman
but he did it from the kitchen…”
Read “Goodyear & Chapman,” a poem by Jeffrey Nathan Marks.
beltmag.com/goodyear-cha...
sowed as many seeds
as John Chapman
but he did it from the kitchen…”
Read “Goodyear & Chapman,” a poem by Jeffrey Nathan Marks.
beltmag.com/goodyear-cha...
Goodyear & Chapman - Belt Magazine
A poem by Jeffrey Nathan Marks.
beltmag.com
June 20, 2025 at 1:22 PM
“Charles Goodyear
sowed as many seeds
as John Chapman
but he did it from the kitchen…”
Read “Goodyear & Chapman,” a poem by Jeffrey Nathan Marks.
beltmag.com/goodyear-cha...
sowed as many seeds
as John Chapman
but he did it from the kitchen…”
Read “Goodyear & Chapman,” a poem by Jeffrey Nathan Marks.
beltmag.com/goodyear-cha...
“Baseball is poetry in motion.”
His elegant movements in right field, his powerful swing glorified in stanzas, and his laser-like throws from the outfield demonstrated an athletic artistry that few players have matched.
beltmag.com/the-sky-belo...
His elegant movements in right field, his powerful swing glorified in stanzas, and his laser-like throws from the outfield demonstrated an athletic artistry that few players have matched.
beltmag.com/the-sky-belo...
The Sky Belongs to Him – Roberto Clemente’s Poetry - Belt Magazine
"Baseball is poetry in motion." This phrase, one I use a lot, though it might elicit an arched eyebrow from those unfamiliar with the nuances of either pursuit, perfectly encapsulates the grace with w...
beltmag.com
June 19, 2025 at 2:45 PM
“Baseball is poetry in motion.”
His elegant movements in right field, his powerful swing glorified in stanzas, and his laser-like throws from the outfield demonstrated an athletic artistry that few players have matched.
beltmag.com/the-sky-belo...
His elegant movements in right field, his powerful swing glorified in stanzas, and his laser-like throws from the outfield demonstrated an athletic artistry that few players have matched.
beltmag.com/the-sky-belo...
“While the coal industry has come and gone, Slavic churches have remained a backbone of the community for over a century. They offer tranquility and craftsmanship in a world that is increasingly devoid of both.”
Read “Onion Domes of the Anthracite” by Gavin Moulton.
beltmag.com/onion-domes-...
Read “Onion Domes of the Anthracite” by Gavin Moulton.
beltmag.com/onion-domes-...
Onion Domes of the Anthracite - Belt Magazine
While the coal industry has come and gone, Slavic churches have remained a backbone of the community for over a century. They offer tranquility and craftsmanship in a world that is increasingly devoid...
beltmag.com
June 16, 2025 at 1:32 PM
“While the coal industry has come and gone, Slavic churches have remained a backbone of the community for over a century. They offer tranquility and craftsmanship in a world that is increasingly devoid of both.”
Read “Onion Domes of the Anthracite” by Gavin Moulton.
beltmag.com/onion-domes-...
Read “Onion Domes of the Anthracite” by Gavin Moulton.
beltmag.com/onion-domes-...
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
“random memories scrawl across the knuckles
of a clenched fist pounding its way into my house
Drunk.”
Read “Shut Me Down,” a new poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com/shut-me-down
of a clenched fist pounding its way into my house
Drunk.”
Read “Shut Me Down,” a new poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com/shut-me-down
Shut Me Down - Belt Magazine
A poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com
June 15, 2025 at 1:27 PM
“random memories scrawl across the knuckles
of a clenched fist pounding its way into my house
Drunk.”
Read “Shut Me Down,” a new poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com/shut-me-down
of a clenched fist pounding its way into my house
Drunk.”
Read “Shut Me Down,” a new poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com/shut-me-down
“random memories scrawl across the knuckles
of a clenched fist pounding its way into my house
Drunk.”
Read “Shut Me Down,” a new poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com/shut-me-down
of a clenched fist pounding its way into my house
Drunk.”
Read “Shut Me Down,” a new poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com/shut-me-down
Shut Me Down - Belt Magazine
A poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com
June 15, 2025 at 1:27 PM
“random memories scrawl across the knuckles
of a clenched fist pounding its way into my house
Drunk.”
Read “Shut Me Down,” a new poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com/shut-me-down
of a clenched fist pounding its way into my house
Drunk.”
Read “Shut Me Down,” a new poem by Holly Day.
beltmag.com/shut-me-down
“We need to worry less if a homeless person wants to live by choice under a bridge and more about the social bridges of connection, kinship, and community collapsing all around us.” -- Dana Grande
beltmag.com/gephyrophobia/
beltmag.com/gephyrophobia/
Gephyrophobia - Belt Magazine
For starters, we need to talk about suicide. We need to not be afraid to say the word “suicide,” because the word “suicide” will not kill anyone. We need to clean up societal problems that increase th...
beltmag.com
June 12, 2025 at 1:45 PM
“We need to worry less if a homeless person wants to live by choice under a bridge and more about the social bridges of connection, kinship, and community collapsing all around us.” -- Dana Grande
beltmag.com/gephyrophobia/
beltmag.com/gephyrophobia/
Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine
Read this essay I wrote about my father’s death and my family’s legacy sandwich over at @beltmagazine.bsky.social
beltmag.com/true-story-o...
beltmag.com/true-story-o...
June 11, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Read this essay I wrote about my father’s death and my family’s legacy sandwich over at @beltmagazine.bsky.social
beltmag.com/true-story-o...
beltmag.com/true-story-o...
"The Parker Sub doesn’t want those things. It likes simple. Plain. Which is why it’s something a simple and plain man has to ask for."
@laurenparker.bsky.social with The True Story of a Sandwich.
beltmag.com/true-story-o...
@laurenparker.bsky.social with The True Story of a Sandwich.
beltmag.com/true-story-o...
True Story of a Sandwich - Belt Magazine
the Parker Sub doesn't want those things. It likes simple. Plain. Which is why it's something a simple and plain man has to ask for. But I am a Parker. And I do want those: the pepper, the onions, the...
beltmag.com
June 9, 2025 at 1:28 PM
"The Parker Sub doesn’t want those things. It likes simple. Plain. Which is why it’s something a simple and plain man has to ask for."
@laurenparker.bsky.social with The True Story of a Sandwich.
beltmag.com/true-story-o...
@laurenparker.bsky.social with The True Story of a Sandwich.
beltmag.com/true-story-o...