Re-Constructing the Rust Belt: An Exploration of Industrial Ruin in Blogs, Fiction, and Poetry by Asynith Helen Palmer A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (English Language and Literature) in the University of Michigan 2014 Doctoral Committee: Professor Sara B. Blair, Co-Chair Professor Patricia S. Yaeger, Co-Chair (Deceased) Professor Laurence A. Goldstein Assistant Professor Tung-Hui Hu Associate Professor Claire A. Zimmerman Acknowledgements I want to thank my committee for supporting this project over the past four years. Like so many others, I am indebted to Sara Blair for her sharp mind and tremendous energy. With care, encouragement, and uncommon insights, she energized my thinking when I needed it most. Tung- Hui Hu is a dynamite interlocutor. His willingness to discuss my ideas-in-formation and paragraphs- in-process was truly a gift. The savvy Claire Zimmerman led me to unexpected, influential texts. Her macro- and micro-views of my project help me understand ideas I could not yet articulate. Larry Goldstein generously joined my committee at a late stage. He was the first professor I spoke with as a prospective student, and our conversations have wonderfully book-ended my time at U of M. Patsy Yaeger guided this project from its earliest stages – through phone calls, email exchanges, and over dark chocolate. Her fearless creativity and far-ranging passion continue to inspire me. She called my prose muscular and told me I was the jazziest woman she knows. Such confidence fueled my work, which I dedicate to her. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. ii List of Figures ......................................................................................................vi Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 The Rust-Beltization of the United States ....................................................................... 1 Mapping a Field of Inquiry .............................................................................................. 10 Exploring the History of the Present ............................................................................. 11 Local Readings ................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 1 – Staging the Rust Belt: Regarding Urban Explorers’ Post-Industrial Productions .......................................................................................................... 18 A Rooftop View of Urban Exploring ............................................................................ 18 Location, Location, Location .......................................................................................... 24 Explorer Historians .......................................................................................................... 28 Textual Adventurers, Visual Explorers, Hybrid Histories ........................................... 30 The (Digital) Emergence of a Ruins-Centric Culture ................................................... 35 Regarding Our Ruin Nation with Abandonedamerica ................................................. 39 Reclaiming MANual Labor .............................................................................................. 52 Missing Parts / Found Objects ....................................................................................... 59 Selective Historical Consciousness: Editing the Scene ................................................ 62 iii Re-Claiming Industrial Power through “Site-Specific Performance” ........................ 63 Chapter 2 – Creative Destruction with a Vengeance: Displacing Blame in Rust Belt Fiction .......................................................................................................... 71 Narrating the Era of the End .......................................................................................... 71 Domesticating Global Capitalism in Empire Falls ......................................................... 76 Russo’s Fierce Fordist Female ......................................................................................... 78 The Narrative Payoffs of “Payback” .............................................................................. 82 Questionable Evidence: History Inferred from the Spectacle of Ruins .................... 83 Manly Brawn and Manly Breakdown: Manifestations of the Industrial Unconscious ............................................................................................................................................. 89 The Proletarian Legacy of Lost Fingers ......................................................................... 96 Feminine Industry: A New Castration Threat ............................................................. 102 Narrative Ruins ............................................................................................................... 107 Chapter 3 – Bridging the Post/Industrial Break in Mark Nowak’s Shut Up Shut Down ......................................................................................................... 109 Forging Voices into Brick .............................................................................................. 116 Lateral Movement: Building Meaning Down the Line and Across Poetry Sequences ........................................................................................................................................... 129 “Labor History with Line Breaks,” or Nowak’s Enjambed Histories ...................... 135 A Poetics of Dismemberment ....................................................................................... 142 “Smashed Glass Class” ................................................................................................... 146 Smashed Glass as a “Cry of Art” .................................................................................. 157 From Criticism to Collaboration ................................................................................... 159 Epilogue ............................................................................................................ 165 iv Rust Belt Redux ............................................................................................................... 165 Rust Belt Re-Visited ........................................................................................................ 168 The Grounds of Authenticity ........................................................................................ 171 The Framework of Ruins ............................................................................................... 173 Sites/Sights for Future Work ........................................................................................ 174 Bibliography ...................................................................................................... 178 v List of Figures Figure 1.1: mANVIL. “power48.” In “Myself & others.” Photograph. flickr. 21 Oct. 2007. Web. Accessed: https://www.flickr.com/photos/manvil/2175812385/in/set-72157604958420777. 30 Sept. 2013. Photograph. .................................................................................................................................. 19 Figure 1.2: Marchand, Yves and Romain Meffre. “The Tragedy of Detroit.” Photograph. Time: Special Report. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. Accessed: http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20091005,00.html. 15 Aug. 2011. Photograph. ....... 33 Figure 1.3: Matthew Christopher. “office space.” In "New Jersey Zinc." Photograph. matthew christopher’s Abandoned America. April 2009. Web. Accessed: http://www.abandonedamerica.us/photo8848522.html. 12 Nov. 2011. Screenshot. .......................... 41 Figure 1.4: Christopher, Matthew. "an autopsy of the american dream." In “Home.” Photograph. matthew christopher’s Abandoned America. Web. n.d. Accessed: http://www.abandonedamerica.us/. 5 Oct. 2011. Screenshot. .................................................................................................................................... 42 Figure 1.5: Christopher, Matthew “pilgrimage.” In “Bethlehem Steel.” Photograph. matthew christopher’s Abandoned America. Oct. 2006. Web. Accessed: http://www.abandonedamerica.us/photo11144030.html. 25 Nov. 2011. Screenshot. ........................ 48 Figure 1.6: Christopher, Matthew. “proceed with caution.” In “Portside Power Plant*.” Photograph. matthew christopher’s Abandoned America. Nov. 2006. Web. Accessed: http://www.abandonedamerica.us/photo8889208.html. 15 Dec. 2011. Screenshot. ........................... 49 Figure 1.7: “Threshold.” In “…like something from a movie.” Photograph. myspace. 21 Nov. 2007. Web. Accessed: http://www.myspace.com/manvil34#!/manvil34/blog. [Website no longer available.] 20 Dec. 2011. Photograph............................................................................................................ 50 Figure 1.8: mANVIL. “Anvil.” In “Industrial set of Doom.” Photograph. myspace. 23 Jan. 2009. Web. Accessed: http://www.myspace.com/#!/manvil34/blog/465948582. [Website no longer available.] 15 Dec. 2011. Photograph. ............................................................................................................................. 54 Figure 1.9: mANVIL. “Turbine intensity.” In “…like something from a movie.”