Roadside Crosses in Contemporary Memorial Culture [Hardcover]

Holly Everett (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Everyone sees them-roadside shrines that are spontaneously erected to commemorate a highway death or fatal accident. In this short but perceptive academic study, Everett outlines the multiple purposes of erecting a roadside shrine: it helps friends, relatives and strangers cope with their sudden loss; serves as a meeting place for the bereft; calls public attention to the death; and communicates a "grim warning" to other motorists. Everett's study is narrow; she examines only Christian artifacts and shrines, and her primary research was conducted entirely in Texas. However, as she notes, there is a certain universality to these roadside memorials, which spring up all across the country with a ghostly familiarity. Everett's book will be esteemed by academics and folklorists who specialize in material culture, but also by general readers who are able to look beyond scholarly references. Twenty-five b&w photos demonstrate some of the crosses and shrines discussed in the book.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press; 1 edition (September 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574411500
• ISBN-13: 978-1574411508
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,447,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Holly Everett grew up in Texas, spending most of those years in Austin. In 2006, she joined the faculty of the Department of Folklore at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. She is cross-listed with the School of Music, and pursues research in the areas of belief, material culture, music and song, occupational folklife, popular culture, and tourism. Her work on roadside memorials can also be found in Folklore (the journal of the Folklore Society), "Roadside Memorials: A Multidisciplinary Approach" (EMU Press, Australia), the Encyclopedia of Women's Folklore and Folklife, and "The Folklore Muse: Poetry, Fiction, and Other Reflections by Folklorists" (Utah State University Press).