Rachel Leon
\n\u00a0|\u00a0 Special to the Rockford Register Star<\/p>\n
A book about Rockford that will be read across the country is cause for celebration<\/p>\n
For the past fifteen months, my life has been consumed by a project about this community, and it will finally be available to the public on Oct. 21. That\u2019s the official launch date for “The Rockford Anthology,” the latest installment in Belt Publishing\u2019s city anthology series, which offers nuanced portraits of Rust Belt cities through essays, poems, and images.<\/p>\n
As editor of the book, which is available for purchase at Maze Books, I\u2019m proud that Rockford is represented.<\/p>\n
The book is comprised by contributions from over 80 current and former Rockford residents\u2014 including tales about moving here, leaving or returning; stories of growing up and others about frustrations of the city\u2019s problems; pieces about connections, community and city pride.<\/p>\n
“People are really into Rockford,” my editor said after reading the manuscript. I couldn\u2019t argue. I\u2019m really into Rockford, too.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I was excited about the opportunity to edit the anthology: it gave me the chance to offer nationwide readers a glimpse of what Rockford is actually like.<\/p>\n
I love Rockford, but my love isn\u2019t blind\u2014and I had the responsibility of portraying the city as accurately as possible. Yet over and over, themes of Rockford\u2019s heart and its wonderful people emerged throughout the collection. That\u2019s why I dedicated the book to the city. Echoing Fred VanVleet\u2019s words, the dedication reads, \u201cRockford, Rockford, it\u2019s for us, baby!\u201d<\/p>\n
The book is not only dedicated to Rockford, it benefits the city: 100% of the book’s royalties are being donated directly to the Rockford Area Arts Council. Typically, the editor of each city anthology receives the money because editing a book is an enormous amount of work. But I\u2019ve seen the book very much as a community project, so it feels fitting to donate the money back into the community.<\/p>\n
Anthology contributors voted on where the money should be donated. We had a tie between the Rockford Area Arts Council and the Family Peace Center. By tiebreaker, RAAC won. The Liam Foundation, the Rockford Public Library Foundation and the local branch of the NAACP also received votes. I wish there was a way the book could support them all.<\/p>\n
“The Rockford Anthology” has already received incredible support from the community, and now it\u2019s time to celebrate the book\u2019s launch.<\/p>\n
In his address to City Council on Oct. 20, Mayor McNamara is scheduled to proclaim the week of October 20th as \u201cRockford Anthology Week.\u201d And then a week of festivities begins.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 21, there will be a launch party at 27 Aluna from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event is made possible by the City of Rockford and Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and sponsored by Aldermen Tamir Bell, Chad Tuneberg, and Jonathan Logemann with Forward for Fun funds, as well as local marketing agency Trekk and 27 Aluna.<\/p>\n