The Indianapolis Anthology

An anthology of essays & poetry offering a reconsideration of one of America’s most misunderstood cities. Is Indianapolis just another midwestern city to fly over on the way to bigger and better destinations? Or is it, as locals know, a place where different peoples and ideals converge to create a rich cultural center? The Indianapolis Anthology showcases Naptown’s vibrancy and diversity with pieces from journalists, poets, historians, established community voices, and first-time writers. The Circle City is more than the home of the Indianapolis 500, John Dillinger, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Kurt Vonnegut, Prozac, and Wonder Bread. In these pages, you’ll find: · lawn chairs in the beds of pick-ups · Punk rock in Naptown · suffragists and entrepreneurs · cement pietàs · dog bakeries and yoga studios · red brick bungalows and war memorials · steakburgers and Mexican seafood; pho and sauerbraten · and more In other words, you'll find images from a city that is truly a cross section of today’s America. Edited by Norman “Buzz” Minnick and with contributions from Etheridge Knight, Terrance Hayes, Michael Martone, and Karen Kovacik. An insiders’ look that will make you see a great midwestern city in a brand-new light.

Presented by Indy Reads Books, Indy Writes Books, A Booklovers Anthology includes works by the following authors, poets, and puzzle makers! John David Anderson, Victoria Barrett, Frank Bill, Ray Boomhower, Mary Susan Buhner, Lorene Burkhart, Michael Dahlie, Cathy Day, Carol Faenzi, Terry Fahrety, John Green, Lou Harry, Liza Hyatt, Angela Jackson-Brown, Lyn Jones, Jeff Knurek & David Hoyt, Karen Kovacik, Norbert Krapf, Bonnie Maurer, Susan Neville, Will Shortz, Barb Shoup, Amy Sorrells, Gordon Strain & Dianne Moneypenny, Larry Sweazy, Dan Wakefield, and Ben Winters. It is edited by M. Travis DiNicola and Zach Roth, with an introduction by Dan Wakefield.

“Instant City,” “Magic City of Steel,” “Sin City,” “Chocolate City,” “Plywood City,” “Murder Capital.” Once the second-largest city in Indiana, and home to the world’s largest steel mill, Gary has suffered and shrunk greatly in the postindustrial global economy. Population numbers now approach pre-Great Depression lows. Large swathes of its land are urban prairie, and a recent survey found a quarter of the Gary’s built environment is in a dilapidated or dangerous condition. But Gary is also a center of Black culture and political power. It is home to the Indiana Dunes National Park and globally rare ecosystems. Union, community organizing, and environmental justice struggles based in Gary have profoundly shaped social and political life in the United States. It is the setting for everyday joys and tragedies, and very much alive. The Gary Anthology’s contributors include not only the essayist, poet, and journalist but also the graffiti writer, the minister, the activist, the singer, the organizer, and of course, the steel worker. Their work complicates standard narratives about steel, violence, and urban decay, and offers readers the chance to hear from those who are reshaping the city from the bottom up. Taken as a whole, the collection is a vibrant rebuke to the notion that Gary is “dead.”

In the mythical town of Winesburg, Indiana, there lives a cleaning lady who can conjure up the ghost of Billy Sunday, a lascivious holy man with an unusual fetish and a burgeoning flock, a park custodian who collects the scat left by aliens, and a night janitor learning to live with life's mysteries, including the zombies in the cafeteria. Winesburg, Indiana, is a town full of stories of plans made and destroyed, of births and unexpected deaths, of remembered pasts and unexplored presents told to the reader by as interesting a cast of characters as one is likely to find in small town America. Brought to life by a lively group of Indiana writers, Winesburg, Indiana, is a place to discover something of what it means to be alive in our hyperactive century from stories that are deeply human, sometimes melancholy, and often damned funny.

John Mellencamp, Crystal Gayle, Michael Jackson, Axl Rose, Babyface, Janet Jackson, Wes Montgomery, Bobby Helms, Janie Fricke and Hoagy Carmichael -- What do these musical legends have in common in addition to worldwide fame? That's easy -- all are natives of the State of Indiana along with thousands of others displaying their talents during the 1950's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Featuring over 300 unique photographs as well as snapshots of the life and times of the selected artists, this is more than a book about famous musicians. Divided into seven categories according to era and music category, the book details the evolution of the musical explosion in Indiana that began with rock n' roll in the 1950's. Seen through the eye of music historian Larry Goshen, with text by Mark Shaw, the book provides glimpses of the above-mentioned performers as well as The Four Freshmen, The McCoys, Denise Williams, John Hiatt, Troy Shondell and David Lee Roth of Van Halen Fame. Lesser-known artists like The Blue Jeans, Danny Dollar, Keetie and the Kats, Him, Her and Them, Screaming Jimmie, Acid Indigestion, Amoebas in Chaos, Andropov's Assassins, The Dancing Cigarettes, Freebee and the Ragweed Patch, The Fire Hydrant Man and Screaming' Gypsy Bandits are also featured. Features a Foreword written by jazz legend Buddy Montgomery. This is a collector's item that will bring back musical memories like they occurred yesterday.

In A Hoosier Sampler, James A. Huston provides a thorough compilation of the works of some of Indiana's most notable writers. Huston brings to the foreground such world renowned authors as Lew Wallace, Lloyd C. Douglas, Charles Major, Kurt Vonnegut, and James Whitcomb Riley among others, to produce a comprehensive volume of great works that provides the true flavor of each author's style as well as interesting, enjoyable, and instructive reading. Covering nearly every accomplished Indiana writer, this anthology will be of great use to students and professors of literature as well as the general reader.