State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America

State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
Edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey


This is an interesting collection. The premise sounds great in theory--have 50 different writers provide glimpses into each of the 50 states with an essay. Having only lived in two states myself, I of course skipped ahead to Indiana and New York, rather than read the anthology from cover to cover. Indiana was by Susan Choi, an acclaimed writer I've actually never heard of, though apparently she was born in South Bend. I was disappointed in her focus on her relationship with her father and the stereotypical observations (conservative bumper stickers and yard signs such as "Pray to End Abortion") about the state. Where was Fort Wayne? Where was Indianapolis? Where was the hospitality and warmth that really is here in the heartland? It wasn't in Choi's essay and she really showed her disappintment in not being able to write about new York.

Good for the reader, Jonathan Franzen instead got the space writing about New York. His was an innovative essay. He pretended to be interviewing New York State, and of course she was a conceited woman with little time to talk because she was simply too busy. And she had a harried, fast and smooth-talking publicist. It was a comedic look at the state and he did a great job with it. Also interesting were the state rankings in the appendix such as crime rates, educational expenditures, etc. Nothing too surprising here--seems they could've found more interesting rankings.

At any rate, probably worth a read if for nothing else than for seeing what was written about your own state. Hoosiers might want to stay clear, though.