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Worse Than Fiction
© Paula E. Kirman
Sep 14, 2001
Note: The article originally scheduled for publication this week has been postponed until next week.
I don't think even the best of fiction writers could create a scenario as bitter and tragic as what has happened in Washington and New York this past week.
While those of us in Canada may be seeing the events unfold from a distanced perspective, others of us have family, friends and other loves ones in the United States and so the situation has hit very close to home.
Like many others I know, I spent a lot of time glued to the television set. As the images of the second airplane crashing into the World Trade Center play over and over again, I realize that only in disaster movies have I ever seen such carnage before. Disaster movies where survivors, at least some, always walk away in the end.
But this was not a movie. No credits are going to roll when it is over, and we won't head out of the theatre and back into our normal lives. For several thousands of people -- victims and their loved ones -- life will never be normal again.
Lost lives means lost creativity, energy and contributions to the world. No words that anyone can write can fully express the depth of the situation. Words can only soothe us for a few moments in time, capture our thoughts and connect us while expressing our humanity.
A humanity which is marred by such senseless acts. No, this is not fiction: it is a reality which has penetrated the fabric of our society, in America and beyond.
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The copyright of the article Worse Than Fiction in Canadian Literature is owned by Paula E. Kirman. Permission to republish Worse Than Fiction in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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