313: Life in the Motor City

by John Carlisle

Since 2007, John Carlisle has fascinated readers with his untold stories of Detroit in his "Detroitblogger John" column for the Metro Times. His words and photographs shed light on the overlooked and forgotten while bringing life to neglected, far-flung neighborhoods. The Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists named Carlisle the 2011 Journalist of the Year for his work on the city. This collection features dozens of his previously unpublished photographs and forty-two of his most unforgettable stories, including a man who has a strip club in his living room, a bar in a ghost town, a coffee shop for the city's homeless, an art gallery in a mattress store and an old-fashioned debutante ball in the unlikeliest of places.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2011

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I know why I love http://www.detroitblog.org/ It's the anti-network-tv-human-interest-story stories. I have always detested those soft news bits at the end of the news: some average slob, just like you, who through luck and hard work made it big. Following a half hour of crime and violence of all sorts, these human interest stories function as status quo propaganda: don't take to the streets, it worked out for this s.o.b. so it could for you too. It's bullshit of course, nobody gets out of here alive. John Carlisle surely understands that. He also understand that we have to be able to hope otherwise in order to carry on.

I've followed Detroitblog since nearly the beginning. Over the course of 8 years it has evolved from a typical ruin porn photoblog to something more. I've followed him through the abandoned skyscrapers of the city, avoiding collapsing staircases, running into hookers, away from cops, stumbling over the homes of the homeless complete with burnt out electronics neatly placed in front of salvaged furniture in buildings that haven't had power since the 70s. Later he moved out into the neighborhoods, writing heartbreaking stories on the history of Delary and it's transformation from sacred Indian land renown for its beauty to postindustrial hellscape. From downtown to neighborhoods that have become urban prairies, he seeks out life in what most would call wastelands. Later his focus shifted again to area business, showcasing places you've drove by dozens of times and never thought twice about.

In the last few years his writing has been published in the Metro Times (your go to publication for classified ads seeking 3 midgets, an obese man and a redhead) and this book features stories from this most recent reincarnation. Why the book lacks many of my personal favorites from over the years, here he has certainly found in his voice, really capturing the struggle of people making a life in a city that has seen better days. More than that,these stories are most often soulful ruminations on the human condition. They are both hopeful and heartbreaking, often at the same time. You won't leave this book with the false notion that a happy ending awaits those whose stories he shares, in fact most end on a somber note with the feeling that these people can not last out much longer against the unrelenting forces of entropy, but the human spirit to fight on against all odds is undeniably hopeful.

[Linda Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need a word that combines heartbreaking and heartwarming. 313 is both. Carlisle interviews and honors the Last Standing in Detroit neighborhoods, proprietors of doughnut, music, vacuum repair stores. Entrepreneurs with sidewalk locations and hand-painted signs and tough love. The East Side Riders. Cafes, bars, diners, churches. Multigenerational businesses grandpa/grandma began, bringing it from south or east or foreign. All are hanging upside down from a weak rafter with no net. The neighborhood is gone, clientele moved north and west. Keeping the doors open for customers also means pushing away scrappers, thieves, shooters, the City. In a hometown where the law puts you on hold, the homeless outnumber the trade, and everyone is aging as fast as everything else, it's a 24-hour alert day. While the valiant struggle to keep neighborhood and soul intact goes on, those who will not give up help those who cannot avoid it. Pay it forward lives here in glorious color. Heroes of The City. Detroit heroes. Humankind heroes.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories about Detroit are usually told on the macro level, while 'ruin porn' photographs focus solely on the aesthetics of built environment decay. What tends to be lost in all of this, of course, is the human scale.

Detroitblogger John is probably familiar to most Detroiters through his website (www.detroitblog.org) and column in the Metro Times. Collected in this book are some of the vignettes from his work. They are a fascinating glimpse into life on the ground in Detroit. Most strike a somber note, but nonetheless reveal the persistence and tenacity of Detroiters.

While the stories clearly take place between 2007 (when his column began) and 2011 (when this book was published), there are no dates presented -- a glaring omission. Also, there are no maps or other graphics to provide orientation (thankfully this information can easily be researched online). Readers not familiar with southeastern Michigan will have a harder time establishing context. Still, all readers are sure to be engaged by the colorful characters, unusual situations, and Carlisle's straightforward, non-judgmental writing style.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since 2007, John Carlisle has fascinated readers with his untold stories of Detroit in his Detroitblogger John column for the Metro Times. His words and photographs shed light on the overlooked and forgotten while bringing life to neglected, far-flung neighborhoods. The Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists named Carlisle the 2011 Journalist of the Year for his work on the city. This collection features dozens of his previously unpublished photographs and 42 of his most unforgettable stories, including a man who has a strip club in his living room, a bar in a ghost town, a coffee shop for the city's homeless, an art gallery in a mattress store and an old-fashioned debutante ball in the unlikeliest of places.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever read. Instead of an “autopsy” of Detroit, Carlisle beautifully and quietly captures the city’s continuing life, culture, and creative drive humanely where it is so often overlooked. Some readers will come away feeling pity or horror over these people's stories. What I got was something very warm in the way the author has given each of his subjects equally such honor. I wish I could listen to people the way Carlisle listens to people. I recommend this book to anyone.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never been to Detroit and have no desire to go, but this book was full of inspiring, entertaining stories about its people and I really enjoyed learning about their culture and their day to day lives. I received this book as a gift and wasn't all that enthused about reading it, but once I got started I was very pleasantly surprised.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

The winner of the Detroit book derby.

[Ben]

Recommended by BELLE ISLE TO 8 MILE: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO DETROIT 2ND EDITION