More than you ever wanted to know about Obituary Writing.

[Kire]

Dead On

By Paul McLeary

In the winter of 1996, a self-proclaimed “computer guy” working for a Japanese bank in lower Manhattan got the idea to start a magazine. As with any other self-funded and self-fueled endeavor, the ’zine would reflect the tastes and aesthetic of its creator — in this case, a guy who loved to write obituaries.

Called Goodbye!, the magazine was packed with a cast of characters who didn’t seem to have much in common other than the fact that they were all, well, dead. Among that first issue’s entries were Red Thunder Cloud, the last known speaker of the Catawba language; Ray McIntire, the inventor of Styrofoam (who never received a penny for his invention but likely some bad environmental karma); and Rolando and Carmelita Bolante, who were both electrocuted when they “came to the aid of their pig, which had a live wire stuck in its mouth.”

What tied all these people together? The abiding admiration — or fascination — of Steve Miller, the ’zine’s founder and main contributor, and the current obituaries editor for The New York Sun, a three-year-old Manhattan daily. “With Goodbye! I just did whoever floated my boat,” he says, “pretty much whoever I thought I could say something interesting or sardonic about, I would write.”

Since taking over the obit helm at the Sun, Miller has carved out a place for himself as one of the nation’s most talented — and iconoclastic — obituary writers. Part of the appeal is his eclectic subject choices, but he also brings to the form serious reporting and a singular, literary style. As Claire Martin, The Denver Post’s obit writer says, Miller has the “kind of dry humor and acute insights that elevate his profiles into nonfiction short stories.”

More: http://www.cjr.org/issues/2005/5/mcleary.asp

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I hated writing my mother's obit. We did it the day after she died and I

was alternately in shock and crying my eyes out. The obit turned out pretty good though. I don't think we forgot anything important that should have been in there.

[livetohike]

2. This is an interesting article

I like to read obituaries. I guess I have too much time on my hands.

:shrug:

It's probably the only time many people have something good said about them. Sad.

[Pool Hall Ace]

3. I like to read obits, too.

My mom used to call me "Buryin' Bess" because I would keep her posted on what was happening in the death notices and obits.

Seriously though, sometimes it's the only way to find out what became of people.