September Morning: Ten Years of Poems and Readings from the 9/11 Ceremonies is a powerful and tenderhearted collection of some of the most beautiful and moving poems, readings, and family memories written about love and loss, remembrance and compassion, all culled from the memorial ceremonies held each year at the former site of the World Trade Towers on the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. These words carry with them the heart of New York how the city chose to remember and reflect upon, to grieve and to heal from, this world-changing event.

In 2002, New York City was faced with the question of how to create a public ceremony that would both bear witness to a national tragedy and honor the private grief, to be held at the site of the attacks. How would the city and its people mourn and remember? How do you give loss a human face? New York chose to hold a ceremony based around sharing the sharing of poetry, readings, and personal remembrances. Dignitaries read the words of the ages; families remembered a husband or child, a policewoman, a pastry chef, an engineer. On this September morning, love is remembered, grief is shared, and memories celebrate life.

This elegantly designed, evocative book gathers those words in one collection. It is also an historical record of the ceremonies, a social history woven with loving, homemade, spoken portraits of some of the people who died and those who loved them.

Mayor Bloomberg, who has presided every year, will write the introduction, telling the story of how these ceremonies came to be.

September Morning: Ten Years of Poems and Readings from the 9/11 Ceremonies is a book of history and a book of love. It will be a cherished keepsake for all who visit the newly opened 9/11 Memorial and Museum, and for anyone who wants to turn to its pages in times of sorrow, remembrance, or celebration of loved ones lost.