Zones of Re-membering

Book excerpt: Don Gifford in Zones of Re-membering shows clearly, thoughtfully, yet entertainingly how no one explanation will account for the depth and complexity of human experience and its grounding in Memory. Because consciousness is a function of Memory, “life without Memory is no life at all” as Alzheimer’s all too frequently demonstrates. Both our individual and collective Memory is stored in the arts, he contends, which in turn provide a way of knowing and of nourishing Memory and consciousness. Memory, like language, is never really stable or accurate but appears as narrative and these narratives collectively form our entire culture. For Gifford, the profoundest explorer of the human consciousness, time, and memory is James Joyce and in its range of reference, wit, and humanity the spirit of Joyce permeates this book.