It's early evening on Sunday, September 11th, 2011. Ten years later. I've struggled to say something, but it hasn't felt right. I can't believe it's been ten years. I was in the city that day. I don't have much to contribute to the dialogue. That's about it.
I will only say that I have found it strange and perpetually challenging to share what was a profoundly local event with the nation and with national politics.
"9/11" and what happened in New York City on September 11th, 2001 are not, in fact, the same thing.
One is an idea, shorthand, a stand-in for a thousand fears and policies, for conjecture and projection.
The other is a time, a date, that something terrible happened downtown. I remember the date, and how I felt, and who I talked to, and who I was with. That belongs only to me. I remember when New York City felt like. That belongs to us.
About Me
- Freeman
- Matthew Freeman is a Brooklyn based playwright with a BFA from Emerson College. His plays include THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR, REASONS FOR MOVING, THE GREAT ESCAPE, THE AMERICANS, THE WHITE SWALLOW, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR, THE MOST WONDERFUL LOVE, WHEN IS A CLOCK, GLEE CLUB, THAT OLD SOFT SHOE and BRANDYWINE DISTILLERY FIRE. He served as Assistant Producer and Senior Writer for the live webcast from Times Square on New Year's Eve 2010-2012. As a freelance writer, he has contributed to Gamespy, Premiere, Complex Magazine, Maxim Online, and MTV Magazine. His plays have been published by Playscripts, Inc., New York Theatre Experience, and Samuel French.
1 comment:
yes I agree with you about the different between the event that happened in NYC on that day and '9/11' - it was turned into a symbol Immediately. CNN had a fucking theme song before the second tower went down.
what I wrote then 10 years ago - which was about what happened in NYC to our town and not '9/11' I reprinted on my blog at http://julialeebarclay.blogspot.com
Don't have much to add to that, but glad you pointed out the crucial distinction. Anyone who didn't smell the aftermath and see the endless fires or the grey dust and the stunned silence doesn't know what happened here.
Blessings to you. Julia
Post a Comment