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| Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 9/11 perspectives |
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perspectives.
It wasn't until the next day, 9/12, that I noticed it. I'm sure it was there on 9/11, but my mind was mostly a blank that day. I wound up noticing it first in the newspapers on Wednesday. I noticed it right there on the first page, top of the fold. What I noticed were the pictures and the following thought that there were a lot of different perspectives to the singular event of the day before. What also became quickly apparent was that the different perspectives of the event didn't end with photography. By the end of the day a couple of friends had told me what it was like down in that hell when it happened. Since then, I've read many other perspectives in books, newspapers and magazines. Heard them on the radio. Seen 'em on the TV. Although I shouldn't have been surprised, I was. There were lots of perspectives on 9/11. One perspective that I noticed right away was the instant politicization of the tragedy. Thankfully, there were other perspectives that were occurring simultaneously that seemed to mitigate some of those pronouncements. There was in the midst of the din of the cacophony, perspectives that inspired me. There were perspectives that gave me hope. There were memorials, there were tributes. There were writers writing essays and poets writing poems. There were songwriters singing songs with new found meanings. There were artists drawing their own meanings from that day and putting their reflections in galleries and museums across the city. There were photographers and videographers offering their own testimonials reminding us not to forget. Because of the internet, I've been able to collect (on this page) some of the different perspectives of 9/11 that afforded me moments of quiet reflection. Here are links to various poems, essays, songs, performances, drawings, paintings, photographs, videos and sculptures, closing with a link to David Letterman's words of tribute and remembrance when he took to his stage a week after the attacks. For me, there lies within this, some things that I sensed after 9/11: a sense of shared compassion and sorrow, a sense of our shared values, a sense that there but for the grace of God go I, and the sense of being in this together. the names. The names. http://www.biography.com/profiles-of-9-11/virtual-memorial.jsp One of my favorite tributes to 9/11 is Billy Collins' poem The Names. Here is a link to that poem: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/poems/july-dec02/names_9-06.html On the second anniversary of 9/11, I was reading the poem The Names and hiding behind it I found a song called "So Many Names." My friend KJ Denhert was kind enough to give the song its voice. It is available here as a free download. I thank Billy Collins for the words that inspired (and created) the song.
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download credits writers. Like so many other people, I've read a lot of things about 9/11. Below are three links to essays on 9/11 by writers that include David Foster Wallace, Don DeLillo, John Updike, Jonathan Franzen, Denis Johnson, Roger Angell, Aharon Appelfeld, Rebecca Mead, Susan Sontag, Amitav Ghosh, and Donald Antrim. http://people.virginia.edu/~jrw3k/mediamatters/readings/cult_crit/Wallace_The.View.From.Mrs.Thompsons.House.pdf http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/dec/22/fiction.dondelillo http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/09/24/010924ta_talk_wtc photos and videos. Photography has a way of taking us back to the moment of witness. Here is a short slideshow from Slate. http://todayspictures.slate.com/20070911/ Many tribute videos came out after 9/11. This video is set to The Twilight Singers' song "Bonnie Brae." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVoz37mul74 song. As I watched Eddie Vedder sing The Long Road during the fundraiser America: A Tribute to Heroes, I thought of a child praying for their parent lost on 9/11. For me, that fundraiser demonstrated what the medium of TV could accomplish when it strived in common purpose for the good of the community. Our community of America. The performances by the musicians seemed to transcend the gravity and dignity of the moment. As Bruce Springsteen said before he sang his song, "it's a prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters." As it happened, this fundraiser more often than not wound up being one musical prayer offered after another. Beyond the songs and performances, the benefit concert raised thirty million dollars. A friend of mine had said to me, yeah, they raised some money, but they also raised a lot of hope. Here are links to six songs from that night's fundraiser. The performances below are of Eddie Vedder, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Neil Young, U2 and Faith Hill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVviMkvxcKU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P79j-293dQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTaueYi59wQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3T8xr274q8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJi-QxxeN9s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90siTXbHFZ4 art. Art is subjective. This link is for people who like to go to museums and art galleries. Maybe you'll find art here that will speak to you. There's enough at this site to fill up a museum. http://registry.national911memorial.org/index.php shared perspectives. Dave's first night back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_CTW1sY68E |
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