Tags

,

Wine, cheese, books…gravestones?

Is this what a cemetery book club might look like? The crowd at Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato for a reading was a little sparse, but we had fun!

Is this what a cemetery book club might look like? The crowd at Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato for a reading was a little sparse, but we had fun!

Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., is starting “Tombs and Tomes,” a book club that will meet in the cemetery. According to the cemetery’s website, “we can’t imagine anything more fun, so we’re proud to debut a cemetery book club with a taste for the macabre.”

I think this is a great idea. I’m all in favor of ways to bring the living to cemeteries, aside from funerals. Let’s restore our cemeteries to the intent they had in the mid-19th century: a place for thoughtful reflection and quiet meditation, a place to escape the frenzy of our daily lives.

I haven’t attended a book club in a cemetery, but a few years ago I helped organize a reading at Glenwood Cemetery in Mankato. I think it’s time to do this again.

We chose to read behind the "Macbeth" gravestone.

We chose to read behind the “Macbeth” gravestone.

Glenwood Cemetery is Mankato's largest cemetery. It's laid out in that park format I like so much.

Glenwood Cemetery is Mankato’s largest cemetery. It’s laid out in that park format I like so much.

Congressional Cemetery is doing it right. Besides the book club, it is also hosting a food truck festival (!) and a “Dead Man’s Run.”

Now, to get my book on their book club list 🙂