Issue 15 / 2000
15 / Lessons In Persuasion: Writers with Pittsburgh Roots
A Steel City reunion
Although Pittsburgh is not the subject of most of the essays in this issue, the writers are bound by their affinity for the written word and their collective fondness for the city. Pittsburgh has always been—despite its industrial reputation—a great city in which to be a writer. Lee Gutkind has assembled a reunion of sorts with writers from across the nation, as well as the up-and-coming stars on the local scene—each of whom has a Pittsburgh connection. The resulting collection of essays is both gentle and jarring, eclectic and persuasive, covering a range of topics—from a stripper’s work ethic to West Virginia’s famed Matewan shootout, Atlantic City’s Boardwalk before Donald Trump, and the uses of poetry to better understand one’s own life.
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FROM THE EDITOR: Leaving Home?
When I graduated high school at eighteen, I told anyone who would listen that I intended to leave Pittsburgh and never come back. I succeeded only in part. I skipped the college route most of my classmates followed and went directly into the military.Notes from the Catwalk
Finding comfort and commonality in a strip clubMy Mysteries of Pittsburgh: An Alphabet
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.We Fish
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.The Conjurer’s Profession
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.In the Woods
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.That Sweet Anarchy We Call Youth
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.Passing Through Pittsburgh
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.Lessons in Persuasion
There was the cat to think of. And the motorcycle. On Saturdays we walked through neighborhoods collecting addendums: windows, bus lines, safety. How much we could afford. Enough room to work without distraction.Who Am I to Speak?
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.A Way to Make Some Money
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.Language at Play
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.Skin Deep
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We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.The Poor People’s Campaign
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.How Butterflies Grew Wings
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.As I Was Walking Down Carson Street: A South Side Childhood
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.Ghost Story
We’re sorry; we’re currently unable to make this work available online.In the Woods
"The day my grandfather saw the naked woman began at dawn."Notes for Young Writers
Dedicate (donate, give all) your life to something larger than yourself and pleasure – to the largest think you can: to God, to relieving suffering, to contributing to knowledge, to adding to literature, or something else.