Looking at a map of northern Illinois, you’ll find Rockford halfway between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River, a location so neatly symmetrical that 19th-century settlers from New England called it Midway. Geographically bisected by the Rock River and culturally straddling the rural-urban divide, this post-industrial city of nearly 150,000 people also represents a midpoint in my coming of age. Raised in a smaller town 30 miles to the west, I spent much of my teens commuting to high school, violin lessons, and theater rehearsals in Rockford before moving to bigger cities and ultimately landing in Chicago.
For several of the contributors to The Rockford Anthology, a new collection of essays, poetry, and photography from Belt Publishing, this “big small town” similarly plays a transitional role in their own journey. For others, it signifies a promising new beginning, a beloved lifelong home, or a place they eagerly left behind. Edited by Rachel León, this book captures the beauty and complexity of an often-misunderstood city through a kaleidoscope of perspectives. Local readers will learn surprising things about the Rockford they thought they knew, while others will receive a nuanced introduction to a distinctive piece of America’s heartland.
Perhaps best known as the home of the Rockford Peaches, the professional women’s baseball team featured in the film A League of Their Own, Rockford thrived in manufacturing industries from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries (hence the nickname Screw City), hosted military training sites during the Civil War and both World Wars, and served as a destination for African Americans during the Great Migration. Over the past two centuries, immigrants from across the world have made Rockford their home, drawn by factors such as employment opportunities and an affordable cost of living. Rich historical threads run through The Rockford Anthology, from the imaginative time-hopping of Kyle Stedman’s “You Were Sledding, Remember?” to a chapter of LGBTQ+ history, previously unknown to me but meaningful to many locals, featured in Steph Comstock’s “Modern Pride, Victorian Secret.”
In news coverage and popular stereotypes, Rockford tends to be viewed as a city past its prime, with a grim economic outlook and a reputation for crime. The Rockford Anthology counters this narrative by highlighting the local activists, artists, and entrepreneurs who contribute to the cultural landscape and economy of their community. Contributors include Sarene Alsharif, founder of an online tailoring service focused on environmental sustainability; Linda Zuba, an attorney, activist, and human rights advocate; and Emily Klonicki, co-creator of a multimedia public art installation embedded throughout a local forest…