Memoria 2026 (Part 1)

Yet another “unseasonably” warm Autumn, with temperatures averaging in the high 50s-low 70s. I’m not complaining, but it does make the seasonal markers for Memoria somewhat less overt. Balmy weather notwithstanding, the grasshoppers have been making their collective presence felt along the river path, the black-crested night herons have departed, the ground is crunchy with … Read moreMemoria 2026 (Part 1)

Make Believe: The Material Culture of Imaginal Religions pop-up exhibition and book launch

The Cobblestone Society: 1409 W Morse Ave, Chicago, IL 60626-3481, United States Date: Wednesday November 11th Duration: 6.30 pm – 8.30 pm, with an artist/curator’s presentation at 7.00 pm Join us for a pop-up gallery exhibition and book launch of Tony Wolf’s Make Believe project, a collection of assemblage artworks representing the shrines, altars and … Read moreMake Believe: The Material Culture of Imaginal Religions pop-up exhibition and book launch

Trauerwege: Germany’s Emerging Paths of Mourning

Over the past fifteen years, an unusual form of public mourning practice has been quietly spreading through German cemeteries and woodland spaces: the Trauerweg, literally a “mourning path” or “grief path.” Neither conventional memorial nor psychotherapy, a Trauerweg is a route through a landscape punctuated by stations intended to give physical form to experiences of … Read moreTrauerwege: Germany’s Emerging Paths of Mourning

In Memoriam: Steve Aydt (1963-2026)

Petals fell, poetry was spoken and honey tasted in memory of Steve Aydt, a longtime fixture, mover and shaker in the Texan counterculture scene and founder of the Eulessyinian Hot Tub Mystery Religion. I interviewed Steve on that subject in late 2024, and that interview is part of the second volume of the anthology Poetic … Read moreIn Memoriam: Steve Aydt (1963-2026)

“Death in Mexico Means Something Different Now”

Humberto Beck writes for Public Books on the changing face of death in modern Mexico: After the Mexican Revolution ended in 1920, the country began the construction of one of its founding myths: an ideology of death, exemplified in Día de los Muertos, “the day of the dead.” The idea of Mexican death fulfilled a … Read more“Death in Mexico Means Something Different Now”

“Why you should talk to your dead ancestors”

Mariam Vahradyan writes for Psyche: Many cultures around the world actively maintain relationships with the dead through storytelling, prayer and ritual. In Japan, for example, the spirits of the dead are welcomed during the Obon festival. For four days each year, families remember their ancestors by tending to graves, lighting small fires, and making offerings. … Read more“Why you should talk to your dead ancestors”