Commentary
The Cost of Loss at WVU
Losing the entire world languages program may simplify a spreadsheet, but it will also send talented West Virginians outside state lines for better opportunities.
The Real Field of Dreams
That tiny patch of Iowa might well have been returned to corn production when the movie makers left town, but was not. It was preserved, haltingly at first, with nothing more than a rusted coffee can nailed to a post to solicit preservation donations, and now has become an industry, a revenue stream for both Iowa and big league baseball.
Ben Gwin’s Essential Labor Story for Our Time
Gwin combines the story of the challenges facing labor unions in the 21st century and workforce realities with a deeply personal exploration of his own relationship to work and his struggles as a single parent.
Gordon Lightfoot’s Great Lakes’ Lives
No song better captures the terrifying power of the Great Lakes than Lightfoot’s tragic, captivating rendering. It is a sonic and literary achievement, translating the sudden confusion, fear, and despair as the Edmund Fitzgerald is unable to weather a November storm.
In Pittsburgh, Local Journalism Is Worth the Fight
Having two major news sources in the city owned by notoriously anti-worker management can’t be good. For local journalism to be good, local journalism jobs need to be good.
James Purdy’s Outrages Against the Establishment
Purdy’s harshest words were consistently aimed at the literary apparatus that he felt was inherently unable to appreciate his formally deliberate but thematically audacious fiction.
Midwestern Ghosts of Christmas Past
That was the street-level windows of the big department stores back in the glory days of Christmas shopping before Walmart and Amazon teamed to suck the last dime from us while, at the same time, squeezing the last drop of joy from the season.
Blowing Up Missouri
It sounds ridiculous to blow up and flood part of a state, but this ridiculous idea worked.
On the Post-Gazette Picket Line
Of course, the irony here is that 30 years ago, the Post-Gazette found itself in the midst of a similar strike. And it’s the only reason the Post-Gazette is still around today.
(Senator) Paul Simon’s American Tune
Though Simon’s politics have mostly been forgotten, his message is more relevant than ever.
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