The two years of my residency have felt like a precious gift — a chance to explore a sublime landscape , commune with nature , and get to know the insightful and hard-working staff . And to get to know some of the 100,000 people buried here . One of the immense challenges of creating plays for this Cemetery is that there is an overflowing trove of compelling stories and interesting characters , some well-known , others mostly invisible . After months of initial research , I struggled to choose which stories to write about . What could unite them ? At the time , I was also struggling to understand our current political climate , trying to make sense of our country . In such moments , turning back to history can be a great help . I realized that there were stories here that tied to the formation of our American identity , though not all in obvious ways . Mount Auburn ’ s founding came at a moment of a great question : in a post-Revolution world , what would our nation become ? Jacob Bigelow and Joseph Story ’ s vision for Mount Auburn was part of the how that answer was crafted in New England . The Civil War shifted that question yet again . During all of this , women and people of color were searching for answers to how they would or would not be included — Harriot Hunt , Edmonia Lewis , Harriet Hosmer , and Charlotte Cushman all found different answers . America ’ s response to immigration , particularly to the influx of refugees from the Armenian Genocide , showed glimpses of how we might move through the 20th Century . When I heard about Azniv Amirian , I knew I needed to write about her family ’ s journey to escape violence and find a new home .
Thank you for joining us to meet these people who have become so dear to me , and to our entire team . This Cemetery is an incredible resource of history and nature , as well as an important oasis in the city where we can take a breath and ponder the paths we have trod and the way that lies ahead .
- PATRICK GABRIDGE