Griffith Michael - The Speaking Stone Stories Cemeteries Tell - Paperback

Binding: Paperback
Description: The Speaking Stone: Stories Cemeteries Tell is a literary love letter to the joys of wandering graveyards. While working on a novel author and longtime Cincinnati resident Michael Griffith starts visiting Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum the nation's third - largest cemetery. Soon he's taking almost daily jaunts following curiosity and accident wherever they lead. The result is this fascinating collection of essays that emerge from chance encounters with an interesting headstone odd epitaph unusual name or quirk of memory. Researching obituaries newspaper clippings and family legacies Griffith uncovers stories of race feminism art and death. Rather than sticking to the cemetery's most famous or infamous graves Griffith stays true to the principle of ramble and incidental discovery. The result is an eclectic group of subjects ranging from well - known figures like the feminist icon and freethinker Fanny Wright to those much less celebrated a spiritual medium a temperance advocate a young heiress who died under mysterious circumstances. Nearly ninety photos add dimension and often an element of playfulness. The Speaking Stone examines what endures and what does not reflecting on the vanity and poignancy of our attempt to leave monuments that last. In doing so it beautifully weaves connections born out of the storyteller's inquisitive mind.
Title: The Speaking Stone Stories Cemeteries Tell
Author(s): Griffith Michael
Publisher: University Of Cincinnati Press
Barcode: 9781947602304
Pages: 326 Pages
Publication Date: 4/15/2021
Category: Local History