The Dead Beat

Call obituary writers "obituarists." The author and others of her ilk meet once a year to discuss their art and hear speakers who also write about the recently departed. The short paragraphs in Marilyn Johnson's audiobook bespeak her journalistic training. By hearing her own narration, listeners can also experience the writer's personality in a way they couldn't with a performance delivered by an actor. Her interview with Jim Nicholson, an obit writer for many papers, which took place in the twilight of his life, serves as an excellent example of her skill at ferreting out the revealing details that can make any life unique. She cites an example of discretionary omission in the obituaries of playwright Arthur Miller, which left out Marilyn Monroe, although he was married to her for five years. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Starred review from January 30, 2006
A journalist who's written obituaries of Princess Di and Johnny Cash, Johnson counts herself among the obit obsessed, one who subsists on the "tiny pieces of cultural flotsam to profound illuminations of history" gathered from obits from around the world, which she reads online daily—sometimes for hours. Her quirky, accessible book starts at the Sixth Great Obituary Writers' International Conference, where she meets others like herself. Johnson explores this written form like a scholar, delving into the differences between British and American obits, as well as regional differences within this country; she visits Chuck Strum, the New York Times'
obituary editor, but also highlights lesser-known papers that offer top-notch obits; she reaffirms life as much as she talks about death. Johnson handles her offbeat topic with an appropriate level of humor, while still respecting the gravity of mortality—traits she admires in the best obit writers, who have "empathy and detachment; sensitivity and bluntness." The book claims that obits "contain the most creative writing in journalism" and that we are currently in the golden age of the obituary. We are also nearing the end of newspapers as we know them, Johnson observes, and so "it seems right that their obits are flourishing."

February 15, 2006
Johnson, a former magazine writer and editor who has written obituaries herself, here offers an engaging study of today -s obituaries. In reviewing the structure of the typical death story, she points out how those for the famous are largely compiled and kept up-to-date during their lifetimes. Yet her study goes beyond notable people, including stories about the average Joe; notices from a number of different American newspapers are compared, with Johnson examining in particular detail the obituary style of the "New York Times" and its pieces on the lives of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. There is also coverage of obituary writing as practiced on the Internet. Ultimately, Johnson considers London the obituary capital of the world and reviews the current styles employed by the four major dailies there. While the topic is specialized, Johnson -s writing style makes the book enjoyable. She expresses proper reverence when necessary but generally keeps the subject light, with a humorous tone. Suggested for most public libraries." -Joel W. Tscherne, formerly with Cleveland P.L."

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.