Genre: State by State

SIMON LIM

Don’t read Blythe blithely In the early 2000s, Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, two American editors, found themselves with a hunch and a conviction which led to them publishing a collection of essays under the title: State by State: a Panoramic Portrait of America. The conviction, as described in Matt Weiland’s preface, was the “easy Read more…

NATHAN LUU

John Hodgman’s essay on Massachusetts was quite the pleasure to read. He writes about his home state, obviously showing a ton of passion and showing us a side of Massachusetts that not even myself knows too well. When people think of the state they either first go to all of the great colleges and schools Read more…

MICHAEL LIN

A Journey Through the Familiar: William T. Vollmann’s California In 2006, Sean Wilsey and Matt Weiland came up with an idea to write a book. It took them two years to pull together a collection of travelogues, detailed narratives, and encapsulating essays. State by State: a Panoramic Portrait of America, was to be a compilation Read more…

JASON QIN

Jason is just beginning Intro to Rhetoric which uses State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America as textbook. Many years ago (10) another student wrote an essay on Joe Sacco’s inimitable style, but in Jason’s foray into the unit, he hit a line drive that kept on sailing until … HOMERUN! One of the Read more…

ANNA QIN

Appreciating Americana State By State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, edited and compiled by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey, aims to create one book containing 50 different essays, written by 50 different authors, about the 50 U.S. states. Each individual essay attempts to capture the notable features and gives a unique understanding to each place. Read more…