Culture Archives - Page 17 of 36 - Pittsburgh Quarterly

Some cities are known for spectacular sunsets. Photographer David Aschkenas finds that, in Pittsburgh, the most interesting light is just before sunrise. Experience Pittsburgh at twilight in this collection of intriguing photographs. View more of David Aschkenas’s work at www.daschkenasphoto.com.

Arts

Barebones’ “Lobby Hero” Combines Comedy with Tragedy to Stunning Effect

by Stuart Sheppard

Dichotomies in art usually succeed brilliantly or fail dreadfully. Bringing together disparate forms is inherently risky: it challenges the artist, but even more so, it challenges the audience. In the case of “Lobby Hero,” Kenneth Lonergan’s 2001 play about four people whose lives collide in a random apartment building lobby, barebones productions has dropped this …

Barebones’ “Lobby Hero” Combines Comedy with Tragedy to Stunning Effect Read More »

Books

Terrance Hayes Tackles Current Life in “American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin”

by Fred Shaw

“Prismatic” is how the late poet Wanda Coleman once described her smart, resonant American sonnets in a 2002 radio interview with writer Paul Nelson. The impetus of her avant-garde style was to approach the old form in a new way, making it a more stimulating way to express anger and satire, allowing her to reach …

Terrance Hayes Tackles Current Life in “American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin” Read More »

Arts

Internationals I Have Known…

by Vicky A Clark

When the Carnegie International opens this fall, it may appear as if the world’s latest art elegantly touches down like an ethereal being whose time to visit us has come ‘round again. But if you knew it as I do, you would know that this periodic being is full of, shall we say, blemishes and …

Internationals I Have Known… Read More »

Opinion

The Last At-Bat

by Douglas Heuck

Early one morning this summer, I was fishing with my friend in northern Michigan. The fog was thick, and Dave asked if I could tell where I was going. I know those waters and predicted that in about 30 seconds a point with a white boathouse would come into view. It did, and we rounded …

The Last At-Bat Read More »

Opinion

Millennials Speak Out

by Alayna Jones

Millennials are the face of the future. Born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, their ranks include doctors, teachers, students, CEOs, astronauts, mothers, fathers and future presidents. What are their aspirations, motivations, concerns and outlook? Are they happy? Pittsburgh Quarterly’s Alayna Jones visited Pittsburgh-area places, ranging from the University of Pittsburgh to the …

Millennials Speak Out Read More »

Arts

Look What’s Happening in Cleveland

by Vicky A Clark

With the opening of the Carnegie International less than a month away, I drove to Cleveland to see their inaugural international exhibition. Under the umbrella of “Front International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art,” projects happened as far away as Akron and Oberlin, but the majority were located in three Cleveland neighborhoods. With a loose theme …

Look What’s Happening in Cleveland Read More »

Opinion

On a Pedestal: Magee-Womens Research Institute

by PQ Staff

Many Pittsburghers have a somewhat vague idea that the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC successfully attract federal dollars to support their varied research activities. But the extent of that success in recent years is almost shocking when you look at the numbers and the rankings. Last year, Pitt ranked 10th on the list of the …

On a Pedestal: Magee-Womens Research Institute Read More »

History

The Great Banishment of 1923

by Cody McDevitt

Robert Young was one of the bad characters in Rosedale, a black neighborhood of Johnstown, after he arrived in 1923. Rumors swirled that he had committed murder in his native state of Alabama. And he had been having troubles with his significant other, Rose Young, since they arrived for him to work in the mills …

The Great Banishment of 1923 Read More »

PQ Poem

The Myriad Lives I Lead Inside My Own

by David Ades

Observe the day. Observe how it is spring warm in the middle of winter, the sky unclouded blue, the air full of undefined promise. Observe my daughter’s excitement at the prospect of a birthday party, running with arms flapping, singing for the joy of it, unbridled, unrestrained. Observe how picturesque all the houses look on …

The Myriad Lives I Lead Inside My Own Read More »

Architecture & Neighborhoods

Car Cathedral

by Matthew John Milligan

Since its completion in 1931, the towering stone St. Helen’s Catholic Church has stood like a beacon atop Main Street in East Pittsburgh. Now it’s a car club and garage with country club perks. Diocese of Pittsburgh’s Bishop David Zubik announced the permanent closure of the church—vacant for four years—along with others in March 2014.“Though …

Car Cathedral Read More »

Books

Pursuing Crime from Pittsburgh to Eternity and Back

by John Allison

“The Gone World” by Pittsburgh novelist Thomas Sweterlitsch is about nothing less than preventing the end of world as we know it. As is often the case in real life,Western Pennsylvania is at the center of the story. Key events take place in faraway realms. Covert U.S. military forces zip there via time travel, untold …

Pursuing Crime from Pittsburgh to Eternity and Back Read More »

Architecture & Neighborhoods

Frick Environmental Center Achieves Living Building Challenge Status

by Charles Rosenblum

Great architecture should be built for the ages. Imposing piles, whether in stone or steel, are supposed to indicate heroic resistance to the ravages of the elements as both practicality and art. And yet in the era of the environmental movement, some portion of this equation has been inverted. We now ask, what is the …

Frick Environmental Center Achieves Living Building Challenge Status Read More »

Books

Rob Ruck Examines Football the Samoan Way

by Jody DiPerna

The thing to understand about Rob Ruck is that he’s a runner—a distance runner and a daily runner. He’s the type of guy to run the Pittsburgh marathon a bunch of times, and when he is not running, he is at loose ends and out of sync. This devoted runner is also a long-time University …

Rob Ruck Examines Football the Samoan Way Read More »

PQ Poem

Naming It

by Jen Ashburn

There should be a name for it: driving into a spring storm with the sun behind you, the spray kicking up from the interstate, the stacked periwinkle clouds, the sunlight still glowing into the trees, finding the naked white birch, the new green of the underbrush. Light has a name for high contrast chiaroscuro, and …

Naming It Read More »

Books

Grit, Striving and Some Redemption Highlight Rust Belt Collection

by John Allison

A Pittsburgher’s first reaction upon completing the 24 essays in “Voices from the Rust Belt” is bound to be: Jeez-o-man, we’ve got it pretty good here. The tales of city woe here are datelined Akron, Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Flint, Youngstown… the usual suspects. But the value of “Voices from the Rust Belt” is not in …

Grit, Striving and Some Redemption Highlight Rust Belt Collection Read More »

History

The Man Who Took Away Snakes

by Lisa Bianco

No, he wasn’t always a plumber for the City of Pittsburgh, and he wasn’t always called Pupi either. His wife called him Andy. Pupi told me this story one day when we were hunting at “The Farm.” I was his hunting dog that day. My job was to kick brush piles so that rabbits jumped …

The Man Who Took Away Snakes Read More »

Books

The Spirit of Animals Glows in Robin Becker’s “The Black Bear Inside Me”

by Fred Shaw

There’s a favorite scene in Don DeLillo’s sprawling masterpiece of a novel, “Underworld,” where a priest asks his student to name the parts of the boots the pupil’s wearing. The young man struggles with the assignment, allowing the priest to walk him through each aspect of this common accessory, an extension of the body, saying …

The Spirit of Animals Glows in Robin Becker’s “The Black Bear Inside Me” Read More »

Culture

A Summer Sampling: Southwestern Pennsylvania’s County Fairs

by David Aschkenas

For many Pittsburghers, summer memories include fun days—and nights—at county fairs. In this collection of images, photographer David Aschkenas captures the spirit and fascinating culture of the region’s fairs over the past decade. The Big Butler Fair has already come and gone, but get your fill of country concerts and contests at these other fairs …

A Summer Sampling: Southwestern Pennsylvania’s County Fairs Read More »

History

Kennywood at 120

by Kate Benz

Everyone has at least one, and probably way more memories of Kennywood: Finally getting behind the wheel of the blue car on the Turnpike. Stealing a kiss on the Old Mill. Begging Mom for another hour at the park. Putting up with your own whining kids when you say it’s time to leave. The taste …

Kennywood at 120 Read More »

PQ Poem

O Say Can’t You See?

by Samuel Hazo

We shout when we should be discussing, and the country in chaos accepts it. We shoot when we should be disarming, and the country in chaos accepts it. We claim that the poor are just lazy, and the country in chaos accepts it. We budget to build bigger prisons, and the country in chaos accepts …

O Say Can’t You See? Read More »

Opinion

Lessons from the Farm

by Douglas Heuck

Out at the farm, there’s an old trailer that my parents bought about 30 years ago after the farmhouse we’d been restoring burned to the ground. I’m sure that when Mom and Dad were alive and used it on weekends, the trailer had enough of Mom’s touches to make it seem homey and nice. But …

Lessons from the Farm Read More »