The Rob St. Mary papers (3 linear feet) are divided into two series:
The Personal Materials series contains personal writing by St. Mary and his collection of "Motorbooty", an alternative magazine published in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Professional Work series contains awards, notes, video recordings, audio recordings, and clippings from St. Mary's work in media production. It highlights his film and radio career and his work on "The Orbit Magazine Anthology."
Robert Alexander "Rob" St. Mary was born in Warren, Michigan in 1978 and raised in the eastside suburbs of Detroit. He developed an interest in media from an early age and co-created an underground student newspaper called "Ink Spots" while at Clintondale High School. After graduating in 1996, St. Mary created a diverse career in media production including work in radio, film, music, and writing.
In 2002, St. Mary graduated from the Specs Howard School of Broadcasting Arts in Southfield, Michigan and began a career as a radio newsroom producer and reporter. He has worked at a number of Michigan radio stations including WJR in Detroit, WLEW in Bad Axe, WSGW in Saginaw, WOOD in Grand Rapids, WWJ in Detroit, and WDET in Detroit. From 2013-2015, St. Mary was a Digital Content Manager for Aspen Public Radio in Aspen, Colorado before returning to Michigan in May 2015. St. Mary is considered a leader in the field of community engagement journalism and has won numerous awards for his investigative and feature reporting. He has also starred in several podcasts including "The Projection Booth", a weekly film podcast he co-hosted with Mike White and "Detours", a weekly arts and culture podcast produced by the Detroit Free Press.
In addition to his radio career, St. Mary has also worked in film and music. In 1997, he produced a vampire comedy film called "Tainted" which played at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival in the market section. His 2007 feature length documentary, "The Separation on State Street" explored a separation of church and state lawsuit in the tiny village of Caro, Michigan. St. Mary has worked on additional short documentary and experimental films. From 2018-2019, St. Mary served on the screening committee for the Freep Film Festival, a documentary film festival produced by the Detroit Free Press.
As a musician, St. Mary played the bass in the Detroit based band, The Freematic, from 2008 to 2010. He is also the founder of the Hold Fast record label, which produces limited edition vinyl only records. In 2017, St. Mary received a Knight Arts Challenge Grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create the Detroit Punk Archive. The archive site features interviews, flyers, photos, and other materials documenting the Detroit punk rock scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Detroit Punk Archive also explores the history of Detroit rock venues Bookie's Club 870, Clutch Cargo's and St. Andrew's Hall.
In 2015, St. Mary published his first book, "The Orbit Magazine Anthology", through the Wayne State University Press. The book explores the history and culture of 1990s Detroit by chronicling three alternative magazines created by Jerry Peterson ("Jerry Vile"), "White Noise", "Fun: The Magazine for Swinging Intellectuals", and "Orbit". The book received a 2016 Michigan Notable Book Award from the Library of Michigan.
In recent years, St. Mary founded Robert St. Mary Digital Consulting, which assists businesses and non-profits with digital engagement and outreach. From 2015-2018, he served as the Director of Outreach for Patronicity, a crowd funding and grants management platform for community outreach. St. Mary lives in Hamtramck, Michigan and continues to work on a variety of different projects.
