Arts & Entertainment

Five years

r

a c Q 1 ural
rspective
on 9-11.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

W

hile the reality of
9-11 stays close to
Americans, the fifth
anniversary of the tragedy brings
new and stirring responses present-
ed by the country's artistic
community.
Books, exhibits, events and films
—some with links to Jewish writers,
photographers and/or performers
—are being introduced throughout
the metro area to commemorate
the loss and address the issues and
emotions that endure.

9-11 stories begin on page 42

In a sense, all New York City's firefighters had been in mourning at the site
for weeks. Perhaps that's why they executed this ritual with such compas-
sion — approaching the pile with measured steps, carrying their burdens
lightly, and then caringly laying them to the earth.
I was walking back and forth taking pictures of this impromptu procession
when two men — a priest and a rabbi — called me over and gave me a pic-
ture to put on the pile. "I'll bring it to one of the firemen," I assured them.
"No," one of them replied. "We want you to put it on the pile for us."
Within seconds, I had been transformed from a dispassionate observer to
a member of the procession. I looked at the picture in my hand and there
was a young man looking back at me. I felt completely overwhelmed. And
yet the firefighters had been doing this for weeks. What right did I have to
refuse?
I moved toward the pile, blinded by my own tears. I don't remember how
long it took to get there or where I put the picture. I only know that I knelt
down, because much later I noticed that there was mud on the knee of my
pants.

A fireman places

flowers at the foot

- Joel Meyerowitz, from Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive

of Building 4.

(Phaidon; $75) by Joel Meyerowitz, 2006, www.phaidon.com .

September 7 2006

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