Remembering 9/11 in Seattle
By Seattle Magazine Staff September 8, 2011
Sunday marks the ten year anniversary of the September 11 tragedy. The impact was, of course, felt around the world. In Seattle that day, thousands gathered bewildered around Seattle Center’s International Fountain, looking for answers and communal mourning.
In observation, Seattle magazine editors found ourselves looking back on the honest and artful expressions of various writers, artists and public figures that offered us solace both recently, and in the immediate aftermath of the terrible events on that day. We wanted to share a selection of those with you, just in case you find yourself reflecting on 9/11 this weekend and decide you want a little “company.”
Several New Yorker contributors look back at 9/11 Ten Years later on the News Desk blog.
Mark Doty’s essay published by the Poetry Foundation: “Can Poetry Console a Grieving Public?” In it he writes of a public gathering in New York a few days after 9/11: “We stood together in our polyphonic, mild chaos. We didn’t know what to do. It was the most genuine experience of public grief I’ve ever known.”
John Ridley recently contemplated on NPR on how 9/11 changed Hollywood.
Nina Davenport’s documentary Parallel Lines is a compelling collection of interviews with everyday Americans filmed as the filmmaker made her way slowly across the country from California, seeking the comfort of other people as she made her way home to face the new reality of New York City a few months after 9/11.
The Daily Show host Jon Stewart gave a tear-jerkingly earnest monologue on his first show after 9/11. “I want to tell you why I grieve…but why I don’t despair….”
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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The New Yorker covers, then and now. Still powerful.
Local painter Christopher Martin Hoff’s plein air series documenting the optimism and difficulty of the World Trace Center rebuild.
Also, here’s a few local public gatherings observing the anniversary of 9/11 this Sunday:
Candlelight Vigil @ Alki Beach Liberty Plaza + exhibit at Log House Museum
Sammamish Symphony presents Mozart’s Requiem @ Holy Rosary Church
Seattle Mariners feature a tribute to 9/11 and first responders at this Sunday’s game @SafeCo Field
We hope you will share your own link to compelling or comforting 9/11 reflections or upcoming public gatherings in our comments section, as this is in no way intended as a comprehensive list.
This post has been edited since its original publication.
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