NationalGeographic.com:
Pulse of the Planet
City of the Dead: Holt
Cemetery, New Orleans
with Jim Metzner
© 2000 Jim Metzner
Productions and the National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.
Since
this weekend (April 5) is the Tomb-Sweeping Festival, it is perhaps appropriate
to do a listening assignment related to a graveyard. This particular one is
called Holt Cemetery, and is located in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. It is reported
on by Jim Metzner of Nationalgeographic.com, in their "Pulse of the Planet"
feature. There are four audio files to listen to: (1)
a general introduction to the cemetery; (2) some
comments by Rob Florence, who wrote a book entitled New Orleans Cemeteries:
Life in the Cities of the Dead; (3) an interview
with a Henry Nickerson, a volunteer gravedigger; and (4)
an introduction to the cemetery 'folk art' of an eccentric named Arthur Raymond
Smith. There is also an online photo gallery to view. Listen to each audio file,
visit the photo gallery, and answer the listening comprehension questions below.
Part One: Graveyard
with a Homespun Edge (Jim Metzner Intro)
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Part Two: A
Work in Progress (Rob Florence)
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Part Three: Of Worms and Epitaphs (Henry
Nickerson)
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Part Four: Eccentric Memorial (Rob Florence)
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Vocabulary:
| Part
One: New Orleans to do a story on All Saints' Day in the process to get to see cemetery quality to be filled with monuments genuine architectural marvels to leave a strong impression on assuming you might even say pretentious fragile ephemeral to establish remote jazz musicians to be buried charm residents spontaneously improvisationally less of a buffer departed a bit of an edge the remains of hoodoo fetish to be nailed to headstone offerings memorabilia to stroll around the grounds gravedigger to be consumed by in progress graveside memorial |
Part
Two: handmade homemade tomb found objects impermanent materials improvised memorials personalized in ground not much to look at devotion imagination Part Three: to grow up yard like it is now I thought of doing volunteer work elderly people to die off family to forget about for some crazy, unknown reason to ask oneself why to count oneself lucky guys like yourself bodies morgue to be done up God knows what strong stomach we've seen everything from skeleton heads whole body you name worms I'm not lying to you to eat good reward that was undone who came before |
Part
Four: eccentric flamboyant character talented you'd consider him folk artist to have a strong affinity for including to purchase plot for some reason basically to pull out of the garbage to create memorials fencing burial chapel souls of the deceased trademark enlarged photocopy grandmother |
Listening
comprehension questions:
1.
What was reporter Jim Metzner's original purpose in going to New Orleans?
2. About how many cemeteries are there in New Orleans?
3. Why did Holt Cemetery leave a special impression
on Metzner?
4. When was Holt Cemetery established?
5. What does Metzner mean when he says that the
dead are remembered 'spontaneously, even improvisationally' at Holt? What does
he mean when he says that the cemetery has 'less of a buffer between you and
the departed', 'a bit of an edge'?
6. What are the tomb markers of Holt Cemetery largely
made of? Why do you not see many of the tombs at first glance?
7. What early connection does Henry Nickerson have
with this cemetery?
8. Why does Nickerson keep coming back to work
at the cemetery?
9. What does Nickerson think he's 'lucky' to be
able to see?
10. What, does Nickerson say, is required for the
kind of work he does?
11. What does Nickerson say about the 'worms'?
12. What satisfaction does Nickerson say he gets
from his work, and what does he hope for himself after he is dead?
13. What did Arthur Raymond Smith do in 1979? What
was a little strange about this action?
14. What difference is there between Smith and
most 'folk artists'?
15. What kind of 'burial chapel' did Smith rig
up?
16. With what 'trademark' works did Smith memorialize
his grandmother and mother at the cemetery?