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Archaeologies
In this haunting essay, Patti M. Marxsen explores the anthropology of family, of the discoveries and losses of a family shattered by divorce.
“Archeologists know,” Marxsen writes, “that something precious is always at risk of being lost forever.” As she visits a Swiss exhibit of objects unearthed in Gaza, she takes in the history of that region as well as the science of archaeology, ultimately reflecting on the “diagnostic shards” within her own family—those missing pieces that render an understanding of what was once intact.
In "Archaeologies," Marxsen is an archeologist unearthing her own past—one of “the fearless ones who study time as a process of erosion, collision, burial, and rediscovery.” From the Musee d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva to the typewriter cubicles at the University of Kentucky, Marxsen takes us on a journey through time, offering us glimpses into the history of Gaza, into the enduring challenges facing women, and into a broken family pieced together again.
“Archeologists know,” Marxsen writes, “that something precious is always at risk of being lost forever.” As she visits a Swiss exhibit of objects unearthed in Gaza, she takes in the history of that region as well as the science of archaeology, ultimately reflecting on the “diagnostic shards” within her own family—those missing pieces that render an understanding of what was once intact.
In "Archaeologies," Marxsen is an archeologist unearthing her own past—one of “the fearless ones who study time as a process of erosion, collision, burial, and rediscovery.” From the Musee d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva to the typewriter cubicles at the University of Kentucky, Marxsen takes us on a journey through time, offering us glimpses into the history of Gaza, into the enduring challenges facing women, and into a broken family pieced together again.
13 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 19, 2011
1 person want to read
About the author
Patti M. Marxsen
11 books4 followersPatti M. Marxsen began her writing career over 40 years ago as an art critic/arts journalist for newspapers in Kentucky and Maine. Since then, she has managed communications for several educational and cultural organizations, including 7 years as Publications Mgr for the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century in Cambridge, MA (now the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, & Dialogue) where she developed several multi-author books on global ethics and education. The same underpinning applies to her own books, which include collections of essays, short fiction, translations, and three, deeply-researched biographical studies. Marxsen’s writing often focuses on the art, literature, and culture of the Francophone world. Her articles, essays, interviews, commentaries, and reviews have appeared in The Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, The Journal of Haitian Studies, The French Review, Caribbean Writer, Fourth Genre, Asymptote, and Prairie Schooner, among others. Marxsen resides in Midcoast Maine.
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