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Rust Belt Magazine

@beltmagazine.bsky.social

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An independent digital magazine by and for the Rust Belt. https://beltmag.com/

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Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · 2d

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/

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...

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Pittsburgh Review of Books @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social · Sep 3

“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-...

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

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · Sep 1

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.

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Pittsburgh Review of Books @pghreviewofbooks.bsky.social · Aug 21

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

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jul 1

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-...

Introducing the Pittsburgh Review of Books - Belt Magazine

Belt Magazine Becomes Rust Belt Magazine While Getting a New Publishing Partner.

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Autumn House Press @autumnhousepress.bsky.social · Jul 2

"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!

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 30

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-...

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 ...

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jul 1

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-...

Introducing the Pittsburgh Review of Books - Belt Magazine

Belt Magazine Becomes Rust Belt Magazine While Getting a New Publishing Partner.

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Sherrie Flick @sherrieflick.bsky.social · Jun 30

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

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 30

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-...

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 ...

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 30

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-...

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 ...

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 27

“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...

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...

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 27

“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...

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...

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 26

“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...

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.

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 23

"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...

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...

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 20

“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...

Goodyear & Chapman - Belt Magazine

A poem by Jeffrey Nathan Marks.

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 19

“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...

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...

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 16

“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-...

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...

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 15

“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

Shut Me Down - Belt Magazine

A poem by Holly Day.

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 15

“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

Shut Me Down - Belt Magazine

A poem by Holly Day.

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 12

“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/

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...

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Lauren Parker @laurenparker.bsky.social · Jun 11

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...

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 9

"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...

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...

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 6

“We drive forty-five
minutes for fried fish
& eat it, barefoot, at
the beach.”

Read two new poems by Patrick King.

beltmag.com/two-poems-by...

Two Poems by Patrick King - Belt Magazine

Still Life with Lake, Lighthouse, Canadian Wildfire Muskegon, MI The long low sweep of the beam on the lake like a sick child reaching, the smoke catching the light by its fragile throat, the light le...

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · Jun 5

Great to see Kent State University Press alongside our friends at @upittpress.bsky.social, @uakronpress.bsky.social, and Cleveland State University Poetry Center in this writeup of poetry publishing in the Rust Belt!

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 5

"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”

Read “A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance” by Rose Bialer.

beltmag.com/a-rust-belt-...

A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance - Belt Magazine

"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”

Reposted by Rust Belt Magazine

Clara Totten @tottencs.bsky.social · Jun 5

It was such a pleasure chatting with Rose Bialer on behalf of @ksupress.bsky.social about the vibrant Rust Belt poetry scene. Between amazing poets and publishers with longstanding poetry lists, it's an incredible community to be a part of ❤️

Rust Belt Magazine @beltmagazine.bsky.social · Jun 5

"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”

Read “A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance” by Rose Bialer.

beltmag.com/a-rust-belt-...

A Rust Belt Poetry Renaissance - Belt Magazine

"We can be of our region and communities while also being part of a larger thing—whether that be American poetry, university press publishing, or just publishing in general.”