Belt City Anthologies

Part of Belt's City Anthology Series. Absolutely one of the best books about Buffalo ever created.--Buffalo News

Buffalo, New York, sits atop a glorious history of power, disappointment, artistic flair, racial injustice, and spicy chicken wings--and all with Niagara Falls in its backyard. Told through the eyes of more than 65 artists, writers, and residents, the essays, poems, and photographs in Right Here, Right Now offer an unblinking, personal portrait of this often-overlooked city, both its good and bad sides. Edited by Jody K. Biehl, contributions from Wolf Blitzer, Lauren Belfer, Marv Levy, John Lombardo, Mary Ramsey, Robby Takac, and many more show why so many people love calling Buffalo home. Here, you'll encounter:

- Frederick Law Olmsted's impact on the city's early design

- The pain and joy of biking through Lake Effect snow

- Racism in a gentrifying city and city planning initiatives

- The rise and fall of the Buffalo mafia

- A trip to a Western New York meat raffle.

Touching on the meaning of home and how to find it, this collection offers an honest look at where Buffalo's been, where it is today, and where it may be going next.

An insiders' kaleidoscopic portrait of a messy, magnetic, and magical city.

A part of Belt's City Anthology Series. This collection is stimulating for insiders and outsiders alike, a portrait . . . designed to be from-the-streets, warts-and-all.--Pittsburgh City Paper

Pittsburgh is ever-changing--once dusted with soot from the mills, parts of the city now gleam with the polish of new technologies, and little remains of what had been there before. The essays and artwork in this anthology aim to capture the surprising, elusive stories that have come to define this city in transition. Editor Eric Boyd brings together over forty essays, poems, photographs, and artworks from Pittsburgh natives and transplants. In these pages, you'll find:

- LaToya Ruby Frazier, Portraits of Braddock by LaToya Ruby Frazier, MacArthur-award winning photographer

- Melanie Cox McCluskey on the Mt. Washington Monument

- Paintings of Steelers fans and the Jenkins Arcade

- 15-year-old Nico Chiod, chronicling the doings of the North Side Banjo Club.

Everyone in this book, writes Boyd, is talking about the city, the things surrounding it; all of the pieces have been created with experience, intimacy, and personality. This book, I hope, will speak to you, not at you. Because we all know this city is changing. We're just not exactly sure what that means.

A perfect collection for anyone looking for an insider's view of the City of Bridges, told by the people who live and work there. Or anyone looking for their first peek into one of America's most storied cities.