Letters to Elvis

Elvis Aaron Presley died at the age of 42 in 1977, the year I was born. Growing up in Canada, American music was not a significant influence in my life, but the curiosity of what it meant to be American was tied to my understanding of what drew people to Elvis.

How did this man who had a sad, lonely and tragic end, have such an enduring pull on people across generations, and from all corners of the world? Over the course of 3 years, I visited Memphis in search of the answer to this question.

Fans from across the globe making a pilgrimage to Graceland to pay their respects, men, old and young, dedicating their lives to paying tribute to Elvis, and those who immortalize him with ink on their skin — these are the people I wanted to understand. I asked them to write letters to Elvis with the understanding that he would absolutely read them.

As one fan succinctly put it: "If you're an Elvis fan, no explanation is necessary. If you're not an Elvis fan, no explanation is possible."