CALL BACK is a collection of gravestones that accounts for AIDS deaths in the Provincetown, MA cemetery.
As I do in new places, I spent a lot of time in the town cemetery while living in Provincetown over a recent winter.
Perusing the grounds, I noticed a pattern: the profusion of gravestones for young men who died in the late 80s to early 90s reveals the AIDS epidemic’s impact on this remote gay vacation town. Although these graves are not marked with causes of death, AIDS can be read across the cemetery based on the lifespans and dates listed on the gravestones. Located via the cemetery in an otherwise rainbow-flag-strewn party town, AIDS’ impact on this community is undeniable, but ambiguous: many gravestones match the specs, but it is difficult to verify any given cause of death. Only speculation is possible, but whether or not my speculations are true, the agonizing experience of visiting this cemetery also reveals Provincetown to be a haven for the queers that populate and devotedly visit it.