Speakers Bureau

Event Details

You Are the Mess You Make

Storage is a growth industry in America today because we have too much stuff. We pack our things in closets and attics and Tupperware bins, and we never seem to be able to get rid of anything. Rather than decrying our materialistic ways, this talk offers a defense of mess by looking closely at the relationship between memory, identity and accumulated objects. Why can't we stand to get rid of clothes that no longer fit, broken knick-knacks and books we'll never read? By using gerontological studies of space management, as well as literary and cultural examples, we can find the hidden message in our mess.