Sorting through the 9/11 tributes
By Claire Zulkey

Sorting through the 9/11 tributes
By Claire ZulkeyEarlier this week I was emailed a press release from someone who I believe was an amateur musician letting me know about his September 11 tribute rock song. That, and this Regretsy post signify the amount of media dreck out there about honoring September 11. (There’s even a special this week about how pop culture “saved” America. Yes, pop culture, stronger than a New York City firefighter.) If you’re like me and are trying to avoid any 9/11 coverage that seems excessively pointless (yes, we all remember where we were), maudlin or off-base, there are a few 9/11 tributes I’d like to recommend that I think got it right. First is the New York Magazine September 11 double-issue. The magazine presents, encyclopedia-style, a breakdown of what was important leading up to, on, and after that day and includes never-solved mysteries, architectural details and sober tributes. I couldn’t stop reading it even though it occasionally made me feel nauseous (due to the subject matter, not the writing.) It’s nonfiction at its best and provides a clear-eyed look back (I thought the story on Morning Edition called “The Banality of Evil” also did a great job of solid reporting and storytelling.)
