We knew two things upfront, when we decided to compile an anthology exploring contemporary practices and rituals around funerals and memorials. First, it was clear that many people were upending tradition when it came to memorializing a loved one-or planning for their own demise. Similarly, we had seen that, characteristically, our own generation-the ubiquitous Baby Boom-was putting its own distinctive mark on life's final passage, much as it had done all along the way. But we also knew that there are quieter trends, just as radical in their own way, transforming the way we encounter death in contemporary culture-and that the writers and poets who answered our call for submissions would be the people who, in the final analysis, determined just what What Remains would be about and to whom it would speak. So instead of funerals bordering on carnival acts, look to What Remains for nuanced, often surprising writing about how we mark that final passage. Who are the writers? They're acclaimed veterans of the literary world and, in a few cases, first-time authors. They're accomplished writers and poets with compelling stories to share. They live in Indonesia and in Ireland, France, Canada, and Mexico. Hawaii and New England and nearly everywhere in between. Collectively, they have written dozens of books, their work has been featured in dozens of anthologies, won numerous awards, earned them prestigious fellowships, been heard on The Writer's Almanac, and populated the pages of hundreds of newspapers, literary journals, and magazines, including: The New York Times and the Daily News; The SUN; Poetry; Paris Review; TriQuarterly; Salon Magazine; Rattle; Women's Studies Quarterly; The Literary Journal of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library; The Harvard Advocate; Poetry of Resistance: Voices for Social Justice (University of Arizona Press); Visiting Frost: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Robert Frost (The University of Iowa Press); Inside HigherEd; Calyx; Writer's Digest; and many, many more. We're pretty sure they found their way to deep truths that will resonate with readers.Featuring work by Virginia Barrett, Sidney Bending, Hannah Bleier, Nancy Brewka-Clark, Laurie Byro, Dane Cervine, Lucia Cherciu, Marc Alan Di Martino, J.C. Elkin, Meredith Escudier, Beverly Butler Faragasso, Jeanne Finley, Nina Gaby, Elaine Garrett, Sandi Gelles-Cole, Paul Hostovsky, Linda G. Kaplan, Ronn Kilby, Peggy Landsman, John Laue, Tina Lincer, Claire Loader, Fran Markover, Kerry Dean Martinez, José Miramontes, Sheryl L. Nelms, Bonnie Neubauer, Opeyemi Parham, James Penha, Herbert W. Piekow, Holly Pruett, Tony Reevy, Carlos Reyes, Natalie Safir, Kenneth Salzmann, Gerard Sarnat, Mary Ann Savage, Patti See, Linda Simone, Richelle Lee Slota, Joseph Stanton, Alison Stone, Katherine Barrett Swett, Margaret Van Every, Sandy Warren, Sarah Brown Weitzman, Jess Witkins, P.F. Witte .