"From the Closet to the Grave: Architecture, Sexuality, and the Mount Royal Cemetery," by Evan Pavka

[digsdigsdigs]

from the introduction:

Using case studies from French and American cemeteries alongside those in Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, I argue that, for those whose memory is directed by the living, the grave functions much like the closet—closing or disclosing what institutions and society deemed “abominable.” However, more powerful individuals were able to subvert the authority of the cemetery by immortalizing their “romantic friendships” in the grave. By navigating the binaries of the closet—closure/disclosure, hetero/homosexual and repression/pride— the grave has the potential to function as an important archive of identity, sexuality and memory.

published in Field: A Free Journal for Architecture, vol.7 (1).

(For Wilde and James fans, there's some stuff about their graves in particular!)

Comments

[breathedout]

Wow, relevant to my interests!! Thanks for the post!