Given

Given: Photographs and Dispatches from El Paso Cemeteries is composed of stunning photography, poetry, and a larger history of three adjoining cemeteries—Concordia Cemetery, Temple Mt. Sinai, and B’nai Zion Cemetery. The collection presents an intriguing view of the boundaries between: life and death; social groups; communities; religious backgrounds; and past, present, and future. “In the cemetery, the camera, by further stopping time, reminds us (to borrow from the poet Wendell Berry) that a day comes when the road neither comes nor goes, when the way is no longer the way but a place,” Michael Dunn writes.

Dunn’s work reveals the multifaceted meanings of the wall that separates the Jewish cemeteries from the Catholic one and how the Rio Grande divides the neighboring cities yet imbues life. Given unveils the gift of keen observation, highlighting how photographers receive a deeper meaning from their subject but risk imposing preconceived notions upon it with their cameras. With images captured over a ten-year period beginning in 2001, this collection includes poetry by Enrique González Martínez, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, and Emma Lazarus. Given also features thoughtful essays by David Dorado Romo and Alexander Nemerov that provide a culturally informed history of the cemeteries and a sensitive meditation on seeing the place in its variety, its occasional disarray, and its quiet dignity. 

Given provides readers with absorbing impressions and an appreciation for a setting in a way that encourages reflection and remembrance. It opens a window to the local history and culture of El Paso.