IUPUI Dept. of English associate faculty instructor Norman Minnick serves as editor of The Indianapolis Anthology published by Belt Magazine, available to order now. In the anthology, a diverse cross-section of writers focus their attention on the Circle City. Tube Factory artspace will have a socially-distanced reading and book release on Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
The anthology features writers who concentrate their attention on the Circle City in the form of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. It features work by Manon Voice, a participant in the Religion, Spirituality, and Arts Seminar, a program of the IAHI; Karen Kovacik, professor of English at IUPUI and former IAHI council member; Sarah Layden, professor of English at IUPUI and author of the novel Trip Through Your Wires; Paul Mullins, a professor of Anthropology at IUPUI; Jordan Ryan, architectural archivist and coordinator for Indianapolis Bicentennial Collective initiative for the Indianapolis Historical Society; Dan Grossman, a research assistant at the IAHI and managing editor of NUVO, and Norman Minnick.
The call for submissions for Belt Magazine’s The Indianapolis Anthology asked potential contributors to ponder the following: “Indy is known as the Crossroads of America for the several major interstate highways that intersect the city. Is Indianapolis just another Midwestern city to fly over or pass through as we travel to bigger and better destinations, or is it a crossroads where diverse peoples and ideals converge to create a rich and vibrant cultural center?”
IUPUI Dept. of English associate faculty instructor Norman Minnick served as editor of the anthology which was published May 4. He said the following about the contributions to the anthology: “I don’t know if I can make a generalization but I was pleasantly surprised: I was worried that they would talk about some of the popular tourist sites and what we’re known for — the Indy 500 and the Colts and stuff like that. But I was pleasantly surprised at how little of that I got, and how I got pieces that had great insights into parts of the city and aspects of the city that really make the city unique, that you and I might know about it but the people who aren’t from here would never necessarily know about. And I learned a lot too about history, about certain neighborhoods, and things that I never knew. So I was really impressed and happy to get such nuance about the city.”
Read an interview with Norman Minnick here.
Here is the entire list of contributions and contributors.
“Indianoplace; Or, What Results from Being Plunked down on a Flat, Swampy, Heavily Forested Tract of Land,” by Norman Minnick
“Home,” by Allyson Horton
“Our House,” by Barbara Shoup
“Back Home Again in Indy,” by Jared Carter
“International Oasis in the Midwest,” by Desiree Arce
“State Museum Thoughts,” by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
“Permission on Holy Ground,” by Chantel Massey
“Find Your Own,” by Bryan Furuness
“Doc Coe and the Malaria Epidemic,” by Nelson Price
“Indianapolis,” by Kaitlynne Mantooth
“Tibbs Drive-In,” by Anne Laker
“Indy 500, 1975,” by Grant Vecera
“Hawking Indy 500 Souvenirs during the 100th Running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” by Michael Brockley
“This Is Dogtown,” by Nasreen Khan
“Jim Jones Goes to Night School,” by Nate Logan
“Punk Rock in Naptown,” by Stephanie Reid
“East Side,” by Jackie Lutzke
“Indianapolis,” by Fran Quinn
“Imagining the Black Crossroads: Music and Memory on Indiana Avenue,” by Paul R. Mullins and Jordan B. Ryan
“Red Clay,” by Chris Speckman
“Busking on State Capital Streets,” by Norbert Krapf
“Leaving Indiana after X-Mas, 1987,” by Etheridge Knight
“What Was the Contribution of Neighbors?,” by Terrance Hayes
“My Father’s Keeper,” by Ashley Mack-Jackson
“In Indy, #BLACKYOUTHMATTER!,” by Darolyn “Lyn” Jones
“How an Old White Guy Got Woke,” by Dan Wakefield
“Reclamation,” by Sarah Layden
“Transpo,” by Theon Lee
“Fountain Fossil,” by Manòn Voice
“Growing Food in the City: Urban Agriculture and Community Gardens in Indianapolis,” by Angela Herrmann
“Eight Gardens: On Gardening as Social Practice,” by Kevin McKelvey
“Mama’s Back Porch on Dorman St.,” by Izera McAfee
“Walking to the Circle: 25 Miles through a Divided City,” by Michael McColly
“Icons from Indianapolis,” by Ruth Stone
“Miss Victory (1895),” by Karen Kovacik
“Monument Circle,” by Elizabeth Krajeck
“Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Indianapolis,” by Dan Grossman
“Downtown, Anywhere,” by Malachi Carter
“Wild in Indianapolis,” by Lylanne Musselman
“In Sight It Must Be Right,” by Michael Martone
“Jazz Kitchen,” by Nick Reading
“Floral Lady’s Employer Files for Bankruptcy,” by Natalie Solmer
“Requiem of a Womanist Library Trustee,” by Dr. Terri Jett
“Moral Warfare:” Indianapolis Women’s Long-Fought Battle for the Vote, by Nicole Poletika
“Sarah’s Exodus,” by Shari Wagner
“The Story behind Telling Madam C. J. Walker’s Story,” by A’Lelia Bundles
“Pink Poodle,” by Will Higgins
“Birds of Prey,” by Susan Neville
“Puppies 4 Sale,” by Jim Powell
“Ruth Lilly’s House,” by Norman Minnick
“Mourning at the MLK-RFK Memorial,” by Dan Carpenter
“Through Our Eyes,” by Tatjana Rebelle