Peter B. Dedek
AUTHOR

Peter B. Dedek

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"The garlands we hang upon the tombs are perishable; the wreathes will fade and the flowers decay; but the festival is born of human motives and better purposes. It revives the memories of examples past, and helps sustain our hopes of better lives in the future. It brings the spirits of the living and the dead in close sympathy." -All Saints', Daily Picayune, 1869. Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated with old cemeteries. They are picturesque churchyards that chronicle birth and death on leaning slabs of slate and marble; they are lonely fields of mostly forgotten gravestones and monuments tucked away among weeds on the old back streets of cities and towns; they are beautiful, manicured parks, architectural galleries of tombs and monuments displaying styles and decoration from throughout the ages in marble and granite; they are sprawling sculpture gardens guarded by triumphant stone angels created at a time when death was commemorated with artistry, taste, and elegance. The landscapes and landmarks we built in the past show us who we were, and the many ways we remember and interpret them now reflect who we are. Places as diverse as historic Route 66 and New Orleans cemeteries are physical markers that represent the peoples who constructed and used them. History in three dimensions, historic places tell the human story as direct experience. Although raised in Upstate New York, I have lived in the South for most of my adult life, mostly in Middle Tennessee, New Orleans, and Austin, Texas. My doctorate is in history and historic preservation from Middle Tennessee State University, master's and bachelor's degrees both from Cornell University, and a Certificate in historic preservation from the University of New Orleans. In addition to The Cemeteries of New Orleans: A Cultural History, (2017, State University of Louisiana Press), I have published two books: Historic Preservation for Designers, (2014), available from Fairchild Books, and Hip to the Trip: a Cultural History of Route 66, (2007) available from the University of New Mexico Press.
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