Welcome to Rust Belt Girl, an exploration of writing the Rust Belt, from a female perspective. Using this blog, we could discuss which states and cities should be considered part of the Rust Belt, what’s “Rust Belt” and what’s “Great Lakes Region,” where the Rust Belt ends and Appalachia begins. We could talk about whether “Rust Belt” refers more to economics than geography. But let’s not. Politics? Nope.

Here’s why I began this blog: my creative writing keeps bringing me back to my native Ohio. It’s more than setting; more than shared industry and landmarks, natural and man-made. It’s more than regional dialect or terms like “pop.” It’s even more than shared faith, ethnicity, and lineages with their feast days and foods. It’s an ethos, I think, but I need to learn more.

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