A New Jersey Anthology

This anthology contains seventeen essays covering eighteenth-century agrarian unrest, the Revolutionary War, politics in the Jackson era, feminism and the women's movements, slavery from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, strikes and labor struggles, land use and regional planning issues, Blacks in Newark, the current political state of New Jersey, and more. The contributors are Michal R. Belknap, Patricia U. Bonomi, Lyle W. Dorsett, John P. Dwyer, Jim Fisher, Charles E. Funnell, Steve Golin, Bradley M. Gottfried, Paul E. Johnson, David L. Kirp, Mark Edward Lender, Maxine N. Lurie, Richard P. McCormick, Mary R. Murrin, Larry A. Rosenthal, Amy Shapiro, Warren E. Stickle III, Lorraine E. Williams, Giles R. Wright

New Jersey Fan Club is an eclectic anthology featuring personal essays, interviews, photographs, and comics from a diverse group of writers and artists. An exploration of how the same locale can shape people in different ways, it will inspire readers to look at the Garden State with fresh eyes.

This anthology gathers fiction, poetry, memoirs, oral histories, and journalistic pieces by some of the best writers to chronicle the Italian American experience in the Garden State. These works focus on ethnic identity and the distinctive culture of New Jersey, which has long been home to a large and vital Italian American community. Filled with passion, humor, and grace, these writings depict a variety of experiences, including poignant but failed attempts at conformity and the alienation often felt by ethnic Americans. The authors also speak of the strength gained through the preservation of their communities and the realization that it is often the appreciation of their heritage that helps them to succeed. Although presented from the vantage point of only one ethnic group, this book addresses in microcosm the complexities of American identity, depicting situations and conveying emotions that will resonate with people of all immigrant ancestries. Among the many writers featured are Gay Talese, Bill Ervolino, Tom Perrotta, Louise DeSalvo, Carole Mazo, Diane di Prima, and Maria Laurino. Each of the contributors provides a fresh perspective on the diversity, complexity, and richness of the Italian American experience. Publication of this book is made possible in part by a grant from the Institute of Italian and Italian American Heritage Studies, State of New Jersey.

Discover the darker side of the Garden State with this anthology of gritty mystery stories. Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each volume is compromised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographical area of the book. In New Jersey Noir, a star-studded cast of authors sifts through the hidden dirt of the Garden State. Featuring brand-new stories (and a few poems) by Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Safran Foer, Robert Pinsky, Edmund White & Michael Carroll, Richard Burgin, Pulitzer Prize–winner Paul Muldoon, Sheila Kohler, C.K. Williams, Gerald Stern, Lou Manfredo, S.A. Solomon, Bradford Morrow, Jonathan Santlofer, Jeffrey Ford, S.J. Rozan, Barry N. Malzberg & Bill Pronzini, Hirsh Sawhney, and Robert Arellano. Praise for New Jersey Noir “Oates’s introduction to Akashic’s noir volume dedicated to the Garden State, with its evocative definition of the genre, is alone worth the price of the book . . . Highlights include Lou Manfredo’s “Soul Anatomy,” in which a politically connected rookie cop is involved in a fatal shooting in Camden; S.J. Rozan’s “New Day Newark,” in which an elderly woman takes a stand against two drug-dealing gangs; and Jonathan Santlofer’s “Lola,” in which a struggling Hoboken artist finds his muse . . . . Poems by C.K. Williams, Paul Muldoon, and others—plus photos by Gerald Slota—enhance this distinguished entry.” —Publishers Weekly “It was inevitable that this fine noir series would reach New Jersey. It took longer than some readers might have wanted, but, oh boy, was it worth the wait . . . More than most of the entries in the series, this volume is about mood and atmosphere more than it is about plot and character . . . It should go without saying that regular readers of the noir series will seek this one out, but beyond that, the book also serves as a very good introduction to what is a popular but often misunderstood term and style of writing.” —Booklist, Starred Review “A lovingly collected assortment of tales and poems that range from the disturbing to the darkly humorous.” —Shelf Awareness

The Turnpike. The Parkway. The Shore. Malls. Mobsters. Bad accents. No other state in America elicits reaction quite like New Jersey. Though the Garden State has risen to the top of pop culture consciousness, its significant and diverse literary culture

"This book explores the people, places, and history of the New Jersey Colony"--

To fully understand New Jersey in the 2020s and beyond, it is crucial to understand its ever-changing population. This book examines the twenty-first century demographic trends that are reshaping the state now and will continue to do so in the future. But trend analysis requires a deep historical context. Present-day New Jersey is the result of a long demographic and economic journey that has taken place over centuries, constantly influenced by national and global forces. This book provides a detailed examination of this journey. The result is present-day New Jersey. The authors also highlight key trends that will continue to transform the state: domestic migration out of the state and immigration into it; increasing diversity; slower overall population growth; contracting fertility; the household revolution and changing living arrangements; generational disruptions; and suburbanization versus re-urbanization. All of these factors help place in context the result of the 2020 decennial U.S. Census. While the book focuses on New Jersey, the Garden State is a template of demographic, economic, social, and other forces characterizing the United States in the twenty-first century.