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:
I posted this interview on FB and one of my friends told me about this: http://www.eternalreefs.com/index.html.
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?
Good interview, great interview subject--Joan. Thanks for keeping our craft out front.
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