Photography Book – Cemetery Photography by Chantal Larochelle

For this month’s cemetery book review, I wanted to talk about Country Churchyards by Eudora Welty. I first heard about this book through the Association for Gravestone Studies book club. I was not familiar with Welty’s work, but this book was a nice introduction.

Eudora Welty is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, known for her short stories and novels that are focused primarily on the American South during the mid-20th century. Some of her works include the short story Death of a Traveling Salesman and the novel, The Optimist’s Daughter¹.

Welty had long wished to produce a photography book about country churchyards, and at the age of 91, this dream project came to fruition.² In July 2001 at the age of 92, she passed away due to natural causes at her family home in Jackson, Mississippi. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.¹

Her grey granite gravestone reads:

“Eudora Alice / Welty / April 13, 1909 / July 23, 2001 / Daughter of / Christian & Chestina Welty / For her life, any life she had / to believe, was nothing but the / continuity of its love. / The Optimist’s Daughter”

Country Churchyards features 90 photographs captured by Welty in Mississippi. Accompanying these beautiful black and white photos are Welty’s memories and impressions of her time visiting these cemeteries in the 1930s and 40s. The book also features select passages about cemeteries and funerals from her short stories and novels.

Country Churchyards by Eudora Welty

My copy of Country Churchyards, purchased from Thrift Books is a well-loved library book from Topeka, Kansas. Even with the well-worn cover, and light water stains, the beauty of this book shines through.

The book is filled with gorgeous black-and-white photos showcasing unique gravestones, symbolism, and cemetery landscapes. The introductions by Hunter Cole and Elizabeth Spencer paint a lovely picture of Eudora Welty and her underlying passion for cemeteries. This, accompanied by excerpts of Welty’s writing, highlights how influenced she was by the heartfelt sentiment found in cemeteries.

I find cemetery symbols fascinating, and it’s interesting to see what common and unique cemetery motifs are found throughout the book. I often found myself comparing my area’s common symbols to those within the pages as I read through it. I did take my time with this book, really examining the photos and all of the details.

It’s a beautiful little book and a nice break from the heavier reading I have been doing lately. This is a book I would leave out on my coffee table.

Have you read Country Churchyards? Are you familiar with Eudora Welty’s work? I would love to read your thoughts in the comments.

Thanks for reading!

I am always on the hunt for cemetery-related book recommendations. Please feel free to share yours in the comments. If you are an author and have a cemetery-related book you would like me to review, please reach out at hello@chantallarochelle.ca. I would love to hear from you.

References:

Eudora Welty | Find a Grave
Country Churchyards | Goodreads

Have you heard of #mausoleummonday?

It’s a trend on social media in the cemetery community that uses that hashtag, to showcase the beauty of mausoleums. Unfortunately, mausoleums are not a common sight here in Northern Ontario, so I have not had the chance to visit or photograph very many. This is one of the reasons I found Doug Keister’s book Going out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity so interesting. For this month’s book review, I wanted to share it with you.

Going out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity by Douglas Keister

Douglas Keister is a photographer, author, and co-author of forty-five critically acclaimed books, twenty-five of which are on architecture.¹ Going out in Style, published in 1997, showcases some of America’s most beautiful and unusual mausoleums. This coffee-table book is filled with gorgeous full-color, glossy photos, each accompanied by short descriptions that give a small taste of their stories and histories.

“From a nationally renowned photographer and author team, Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity provides an engaging and at times surprising look at America’s forgotten architecture: the mausoleum.

Elegant, full-color photographs display the grandeur of the mausoleum, documenting the work of some of America’s most noted architects and in some cases the only remaining examples of a particular architect’s work. Additionally, photographs of the interiors of some mausoleums show rarely seen Tiffany stained-glass windows.

Going Out in Style takes readers into beautiful and historic cemeteries in such cities as New York, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and many others.” – Synopsis from Amazon.ca

Going out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity by Douglas Keister

This is a beautiful book! I was lucky enough to find a first edition hardcover copy, with glossy pages. All the photos are beautifully shot, really showcasing what makes each mausoleum unique. I loved that they took advantage of the book’s large size by including full-page images. There is also a paperback edition available, that is printed on uncoated paper. I have been told the uncoated paper dulls and muddies the photography. That just seems wrong for a photography book!

I enjoyed exploring the histories of all the beautiful mausoleums presented, but it did feel like much more could have been written about them. Sometimes I found the descriptions to be just too short! I’m sure whole books could be written on some of them. Because I am not very familiar with mausoleums and their architecture, I did enjoy learning more about the different styles and periods and found myself trying to figure them out before it was noted in the description.

One of my favorite aspects of the book, was when we were given a look inside the mausoleums. That was by far my favorite chapter. Some of them are just as ornate on the inside, as they are on the outside, while others are very plain compared to their exterior. Some mausoleums hold amazing pieces of art, like Tiffany stained glass windows. It was lovely to peek inside, into what we often don’t get a chance to explore.

I would highly recommend this book and think it would make a great addition to any taphophile’s library. I would especially recommend it to those who love mausoleums or those interested in learning more about architecture. My only note would be to make sure you get the hardcover edition!

I am always on the hunt for cemetery-related book recommendations. Please feel free to share any in the comments. If you are an author and have a cemetery-related book you would like me to review, please reach out at hello@chantallarochelle.ca. I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading!

References

About Douglas Keister | DouglasKeister.com

Cemetery Photography by Chantal Larochelle

Tag: Photography Book

Cemetery Book Review: Country Churchyards

Cemetery Book Review: Going out in Style