Guest Post: Temporary Memorials As Sites Of Grief
In recent years, we in the US have had to see a number of temporary memorials rise up. These memorials mark untimely, especially traumatic, deaths usually associated with victims of gun violence, brutality, or accidents. Memorials, especially if they are on the site of the event, become places to be in community with those lost and inhabit the same space, even if it is a headspace that is in memoriam. But these spaces aren’t just for remembering the dead, for the living temporary memorials become liminal sites that help individuals confront the trauma of sudden and often violent death.
The Importance Of Grieving Our Queer Dead
On October 26, 2018 Matthew Shepard was laid to rest in the Washington National Cathedral. I was fortunate enough to attend this ceremony with some friends. We were able to find seating in the north transept which allowed us to be remarkably close to the pulpit where the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, helped preside over the ceremony. What we did not know, however, was that we were also seated by the entrance to the crypt where Matthew would be interred.