Remembering 9/11 Through Fact and Fiction
There are two time periods in modern American literature: pre- and post-9/11.
Published on June 16, 2023
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001
Holter GrahamThe Grief Americans No Longer Share
As the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks arrives, a splintered nation lacks the collective resolve it once showed.
A lot has happened in the two decades since 9/11, most notably the coronavirus pandemic. Graff (author of the aforementioned “The Only Plane in the Sky”) compares America’s united grief in the wake of the terrorist attacks with the country’s divisive anger in the midst of the pandemic. Some try to elicit empathy on social media by comparing the high number of deaths from COVID-19 with the death toll of 9/11, making this article both sobering and eye-opening.
Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close: A Novel
Jonathan Safran FoerThey Don't Remember Their Parents Dying On 9/11. But They'll Never Forget
Many children of 9/11 victims were too young to remember their parents who died. They've grown up living with the tension between having a personal connection to the day but few, if any memories.
Oskar is old enough in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” to remember his father, but there are many children who have few, if any, memories of their parents who died in the attacks. This NPR article profiles five kids who were only a few months or years old when their parents died on 9/11 and details how the absences shaped their lives.