The Holy Dusters: Fragments

In seven fragments, Judith Wermuth-Atkinson looks at the stories of old people from different societies and cultures of our time – from England to New England, Germany, India, and post-World War II Bulgaria. This is an appeal for attention to our attitudes toward the elderly. The author stresses that although "old age seems to be an inconvenience for many families, for society, and most certainly for the economics of any state" we should remember that "the old people of our time are also the creators of this time" and that "what the present represents for us was their project, their work - not just ours."

Judith Wermuth-Atkinson is a multi-lingual author and a specialist in world literature and philosophy. She has received her PhD from Columbia University where she has also been teaching courses on world literature, philosophy, and aesthetics. She writes poetry, essays, and other non-fiction prose and has published a memoir about growing up in a communist country and her illegal escape through the iron curtain.