Labyrinth Books and Wild River Books invite the public to celebrate Brief Eulogies at Roadside Shrines at Labyrinth on March 19 at 6 p.m. A collection of stories by Mark Lyons published by Wild River, Brief Eulogies has already been called an “important landmark in the literature of multiculturalism.”

Pushcart Prize Nominee, author Mark Lyons builds “story shrines” along U.S. highways, and depicts the struggles and insights of undocumented Mexican immigrants, hospital “lifers,” returning veterans and highway philosophers, among other unforgettable characters.

“Stories worth savoring … a world rich enough to make many novelists envious,” writes the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Mark Lyons, asks us to slow down, pull over, and turn off the engine. He asks us to consider the lives of not only the deceased being commemorated, but also the people left behind by the dead, the ones doing the commemorating … deserves to be read and relished.”

Brief Eulogies constructs story shrines, or descansos (”resting places”) — intimate memorial shrines we glimpse at the edge of highways and rural roads that mark profound loss, but also serve as acts of redemption. Brief Eulogies are stories about communities and people finding ways to survive their histories, addictions, and fears.

Mark Lyons is the Director of the Philadelphia Storytelling Project (PSP), where he uses digital storytelling in his work with teens, the immigrant community and homeless veterans. Lyons` past literary work includes writing, translating and co-editing Espejos y Ventanas / Mirrors and Windows, Oral Histories of Mexican Farmworkers and Their Families, published in English and Spanish. With 25 years of experience working in the Latino community as a health worker and community organizer, he was the director of the Farmworkers Health and Safety Institute. He additionally serves as the editor of Open Borders, the Wild River Review series of immigrant stories.