How Lori Lightfoot Beat the Machine
Lori Lightfoot’s historic victory changed the way politics is played in Chicago. Now what kind of mayor will she make?
What Rahm Leaves Behind
The downtown skyline grew taller and burned brighter in Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago. The only problem: He didn’t make room for everyone.
The Bitter Controversy Over Chicago’s Newest Police Academy
Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to build a police academy in Chicago’s poorest, most violent neighborhood. Not everyone there wants more police around.
A Museum for Phanatics
A visit to the Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting, Indiana.
Chicago’s New Progressive Boss
Chuy Garcia is headed to Washington, but his local influence is bigger than ever.
Meet the Community Organizers Fighting Against…Barack Obama
As he plans his presidential center, Obama is getting pushback from members of his old profession, who want to make sure the surrounding neighborhoods benefit.
Reviews
New York Times
“A dictionary wrapped in some serious dialectology inside a gift book trailing a serious whiff of Relevance.”
Lansing City Pulse
“A delightful romp through the dialects and vocabulary of the region.”
Inside Hook
“In his delightful new book, Edward McClelland argues that the dialect of the Midwest is one of the country’s most linguistically significant … [How To Speak Midwestern is] a long-overdue study of the middle-American vernacular, and how that vernacular informs our identity. At its heaviest, the book is a socio-economic treatise worthy of a university library; at its lightest, it’s a regionally specific Urban Dictionary.”
Star Tribune
“There is scholarship [in How To Speak Midwestern], a deep understanding of grammar and ethnic history, as he traces certain speech patterns down to a single city. But McClelland, a Michigan native, also has a voice, opinions and a few punchlines.”
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“McClelland leavens his writing with pop-culture references … and touches of humor.”
Chicagoist
“How To Speak Midwestern is a fascinating read, whether you hail from WOWOland, the UP, Cereal City, or Baja Minnesota.”
Washington Post
“An amusing glossary to the lingo of the [Midwest’s] more industrial states.”
Third Coast Review
“McClelland shows us that by embracing our local phrases and accents (and even being able to poke a little fun at them), we cultivate the uniqueness of our cities, grow closer to our communities, and define our cultural identities.”
Folktales and Legends of the Middle West
America’s first superheroes lived in the Midwest. There was Nanabozho, the Ojibway man-god who conquered the King of Fish, took control of the North Wind, and inspired Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha. Paul Bunyan, the larger-than-life North Woods lumberjack, created Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes with his giant footsteps. More recently, Pittsburgh steelworker Joe Magerac squeezed out rails between his fingers, and Rosie the Riveter churned out the planes that won the world’s most terrible war.
In Folktales and Legends of the Middle West, Edward McClelland collects these stories and more. Readers will learn the sea shanties of the Great Lakes sailors and the spirituals of the slaves following the North Star across the Ohio River, and be frightened by tales of the Lake Erie Monster and Wisconsin’s dangerous Hodag. A history of the region as told through its folklore, music, and legends, this is a book every Midwestern family should own.
Edward McClelland is the author of How to Speak Midwestern. His writing has appeared in publications such as the Columbia Journalism Review, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Salon. He lives in Chicago.
Downstate Hate
A history of the bitter, nearly 200-year rivalry between Chicago and the rest of Illinois.
Chicago should annex adjoining suburbs
Chicago needs to prevent Houston from passing it for third place, and Illinois doesn’t need so many municipalities