I asked another committed Detroiter the question above. Here’s her answer. (NB You can watch video of Rebecca’s terrific lecture at DETROIT SPEAKS on the city’s alt-music history here. ) Rebecca Mazzei Thanks for the question Steve. Its so complicated. Here is a quick response: I find that New Yorkers’ perspectives, no matter how creative they may be, have… (read more)
Leon Johnson dear steve / curious timing as i prepare for the grand project of re-enchantment as an artist, educator, and citizen / thank you for the invitation. thoughts informed by the introduction to my book, vestigial enclaves and sacral enclosures, recently published in detroit at salt & cedar: all aspirations, all claims of newness,… (read more)
As part of its continuing decline as a newspaper, the NYTimes has been publishing articles about Detroit. For the most part they have characterized the city as an empty, burned out husk waiting for “creatives” and “entrepreneurial leadership” to come and rescue it. Between this call for a neoliberal land grab, and the flood… (read more)
I just got back from Detroit. I’m not going to talk about my memories or my personal sense of loss. I will save that for my loved ones. I will save it for people who will not judge me for my sadness, my anger, my sense of displacement and loss. I will save it for… (read more)
The permanent collection at the Detroit Institute of the Arts has an enormous influence on me. Like most kids in Detroit, I first went there on a school trip. (This was back when education included things like art and culture.) I was spellbound by the building itself. I stood on the stairs with my mouth… (read more)