http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Josie/Where%20We%20Live%2005-31-2011.mp3
Connecticut is host to hundreds of war memorials and monuments dating back all the way back to the Civil War. These memorials are usually very literal - depictions of heroic figures or commemorations of the war dead. Or they are truly monumental: points of civic pride meant to be gathering places for the community. But over time, memorials have grown increasingly conceptual and abstract, and are often a touchstone for controversy.
On our return from Memorial Day weekend, we’ll explore the purpose and power of memorials. We’ll speak with the editor of a recent book about the difficult task of creating a public space that allows both a collective and intensely personal experience of remembrance. We’ll hear from Mary Fetchet, the founding director of New Canaan-based Voices of September 11th about their interactive online Living Memorial Project, and the controversial 9/11 Memorial at ground zero.
And the lead organizer for the Hartford Distributors’ memorial garden will talk about the commemorative sculptures to be dedicated later this summer on the one-year anniversary of the workplace shooting.