Episode Summary: Allison Christine Meier, "Grave" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Dr. Miranda Melcher
Guest: Allison C. Meier
Date: November 27, 2025

Overview: Main Theme & Purpose

This episode dives into Allison C. Meier’s book Grave, part of Bloomsbury's Object Lessons series. The conversation explores the history, cultural significance, evolution, and future of graves and cemeteries, particularly in the United States, while weaving in Allison's personal experiences as a cemetery tour guide in Brooklyn. The episode engages listeners in reconsidering the often-overlooked spaces of burial, focusing on the living’s relationship with the dead, societal inequalities reflected in cemeteries, and the possibilities for burial in the future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to the Author and Book

• Allison’s Background: Not an academic but a writer focusing on art, culture, and history. Her work as a cemetery tour guide in Brooklyn inspired her deep dive into graves.
  • Quote:

    “I started leading cemetery tours here about 10 years ago...I have been thinking about the grave for a long time and like what, what is the idea of a good grave?...in a city like New York where land so limited.” (03:00-03:35)

• Object Lessons Series: Each book spotlights a single "object" and explores its meaning in culture in a freeform, narrative non-fiction style.
  • Quote:

    “...Object Lessons book series is just a great series for...free flowing nonfiction...than you would find in something that’s like...an academic book or something aimed at being a New York Times bestseller.” (04:00-04:43)

2. Becoming a Cemetery Tour Guide

• Allison moved to New York in 2009, became fascinated by Greenwood Cemetery, and saw untold stories in its landscape.
  • Quote:

    “I just happened to rent an apartment near Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn and was just kind of astounded by the place...I just found it to be a very fascinating place to walk around.” (05:28-05:50)

• Began tours for Atlas Obscura, realizing how invisible cemeteries are to most Americans compared to traditions elsewhere.
  • Quote:

    “...That was kind of when I started to think about how invisible cemeteries are to a lot of us, especially in the United States, where we don’t have the same kind of grave visiting traditions of a country like Mexico.” (06:51-07:25)

3. Scope & Choices in the Book

• The book focuses primarily on American graves, especially those she has visited, to balance manageability and depth.
• Challenges in selecting topics given the breadth of grave-related history.
  • Quote:

    “...If I was doing the entire history of the grave of all time, it would be probably the biggest book ever written because we all have had a grave of some sort...” (09:38-09:57)

4. Graves as Mirrors of Society’s Inequalities

• The myth of “death as the great leveler” is interrogated—graves are not nearly as diverse as the dead themselves. Quote:

  “...the ultimate fate of our bodies, which is not really the thing I focus on. Like, we all end up dead, but we don't necessarily all end up having the same type of grave. And all of those divisions within life have tended to carry into the cemeteries, including now...” (10:31-11:16)

• Visible Inequality: The difference in monument sizes, care, and even unmarked/forgotten graves, like New York’s potter’s fields.
• Segregation and marginalization endure in cemetery plots and policies, even in “progressive” cities.

5. Cemetery Upkeep & Impact on the Living

• Well-funded cemeteries are well-cared and welcoming; neglected ones fall into disrepair, influencing whether families wish to visit or remain there.
  • Quote:

    “...there are a lot of disparities of what a cemetery looks like and how it's being cared for...I think that that kind of influences...our attitudes towards wanting to visit them and see them.” (13:57-14:57)

6. Cemeteries as Public Space for the Living

• Cultural differences: In London, former cemeteries become parks; in New York, there’s discomfort in using cemeteries for leisure.
  • Quote:

    “...thinking about how you can have a balance between the purpose of a place, respecting the dead...and then also welcoming people in is, I think, an area that there could be a lot of improvement in.” (17:58-18:29)

7. The Evolution of Cemeteries: Four Brooklyn Examples

Allison details four cemeteries near her home to illustrate changing burial practices and urban landscapes:

• Greenwood: Grand, Victorian-era, landscaped; a model of 19th-century cemetery design.
• The Quaker Cemetery: A religious space, tucked within a public park, holding onto its community’s traditions.
• Dutch Reformed Churchyard: Oldest, now often locked, reflecting changing neighborhoods.
• Former African Burial Ground: Built over and mostly forgotten—now the subject of grassroots activism seeking recognition.
• Quote:

  “...this call to remember, like, this too is a cemetery, even though it has been marginalized, built over and disrespected in a way that like, that Dutch Reformed Church cemetery was not. The Quaker church cemetery...was not.” (22:55-23:41)

8. Rural Cemetery Movement and Its Legacy (26:04-30:34)

• Inspired by Paris’s Père Lachaise, the rural cemetery movement began in the US with Mount Auburn Cemetery in 1836.
• Emphasized cemeteries as garden-like, multi-use spaces—public parks before public parks existed.
  • Quote:

    “...the rural cemetery movement...radical idea about...not just caring for the dead, but...what a public green space would look like, even though...they were mostly privately run.” (29:30-30:25)

9. Transitions in Burial Practices: The Rise of Cremation and Alternatives

• Cremation was once taboo in the U.S.; its normalization has changed cemetery landscapes.
• Practicality and changing lifestyles (mobility, lack of family in one place) have driven its adoption.
  • Quote:

    “...It did take until the early 20th century for [cremation] to really take off. And, you know, it was a taboo from, I would say, into the mid century...for the general public it has become a lot more of a normal choice...” (34:44-35:32)

• New possibilities like human composting (Recompose), green burials, and personalized options (ashes in fireworks, records, etc.) are emerging.
  • Quote:

    “...they are working with...Bell Mountain in Washington to use soil from these composted remains to...rehabilitate landscapes...they don't even want you to have, like, a marker...they have just become the land themselves.” (37:16-38:28)

10. Looking Ahead: The Future of Graves

• Hopes for a future where burial options are accessible, meaningful, and reflect personal wishes rather than only practicalities.
• Inequities persist, even for “green” or new forms of burial; access is geographic and financial.
  • Quote:

    “...I would hope for the future that whatever the grave looks like, looks like that it's accessible and respectful to everyone...I'm hoping that the future grave, like, is something that is reflective of what you want...” (39:27-40:01)

• The importance of planning and easing the process for the bereaved is highlighted.

11. Re-imagining Existing Cemeteries

• Cites the Woodlands in Philadelphia as a model: community involvement, respect for the dead, innovative programming like “Grave Gardeners.”
  • Quote:

    “...You can ride your bike through there, you can walk your dog...these flowers and to see people caring for graves of people, you know, they didn't know, but lived in the city that they live in now, like centuries, decades before them.” (43:02-43:52)

12. Living in “A Good Place to Die”

• The concept of choosing a city for the way it handles death and burial, not just life—accessibility, respect, meaningful options.
  • Quote:

    “...a good place to die is somewhere I feel like I will have my remains treated with respect. And that also I'm able to get a memorial that, like, I can afford if I want it and if I don't want it, that there is something accessible for green burial cremation, human composting...” (45:20-46:08)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Americans and grave traditions:

  “...how invisible cemeteries are...especially in the United States, where we don't have the same kind of grave visiting traditions of a country like Mexico.” (07:12-07:24)

• On cemetery inequality:

  “There has definitely been divisions of class, of economics, of race, definitely. Including in a quote, unquote, progressive city like New York... segregation in the cemeteries after slavery was abolished.” (11:22-12:23)

• On the future of graves:

  “I'm hoping that the future grave...is something that is reflective of what you want...having more options is just what I hope the future of the grave is.” (40:01-40:33)

• On human composting:

  “I thought that was just kind of a really radical way to think about the grave...just letting yourself go into the...nature, I thought just was really beautiful and surprised me in that I hadn't really thought about the grave in that way.” (38:18-38:56)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:01] Episode introduction; Allison’s background
• [05:18] Becoming a cemetery tour guide
• [08:26] Choosing what to include in Grave
• [10:04] How graves reflect (and reinforce) social divisions
• [12:35] Visible examples of cemetery inequality
• [15:31] How/why cemeteries (often) don’t serve the living
• [19:20] Four Brooklyn cemeteries—changing urban landscapes & memory
• [26:04] The rural cemetery movement and its legacy
• [31:36] How cremation became mainstream
• [35:57] Human composting & other alternative burial options
• [39:23] The future of graves
• [42:22] How existing cemeteries could change to serve communities
• [44:58] What it means to “live in a good place to die”
• [48:27] Allison’s current projects and closing thoughts

Takeaways

• Cemeteries are shaped by and reinforce social values, divisions, and changes over time, both as resting places for the dead and as civic spaces for the living.
• Burial practices are evolving—driven by urbanization, social change, environmental concerns, and new attitudes toward death.
• There’s hope for both more equity and more personalization in the future of graves and cemeteries—and potential for them to become richer spaces serving broader community needs.

Further Reading:
Grave by Allison C. Meier (Bloomsbury Object Lessons, 2023) is available now.
Find Allison's zines and updates on cemetery events via her Etsy page.