Friday, June 12, 2009

Interview with Joan Harvey of The Oregonian

Justin Nobel, a blogger who wrote obits for the Point Reyes Light after our colleague Larken Bradley left that paper for the West Marin Citizen, recently sought an interview with a member of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers.

He got one with Joan Harvey.

You can read it on Justin's blog at:
http://blogs.funeralwise.com/dying/

3 comments:

The Spectator said...

I posted this interview on FB and one of my friends told me about this: http://www.eternalreefs.com/index.html.

Alana Baranick said...

I agree with Joan on most things, but I'm not in favor of airing the deceased's dirty laundry in their final send-off, unless it's pertinent to the story.

Don't get me wrong. As an obit writer, I wouldn't shy away from including information about someone whose misbehavior was prominently covered in the news, who netted significant prison time or who was a public figure who was less than saintly.

Obituaries are not supposed to be tributes to the deceased.

But why include every chapter and detail in a person's life? Why write about the deceased's alcoholic husband or her weight problem unless it's significant to the story?

Kay Powell said...

Good interview, great interview subject--Joan. Thanks for keeping our craft out front.