Carolyn Gilbert's Art of the Obituary

Sunday, May 16, 2010

In the obituary world we often discuss the wonderful world of photos that accompany an obituary. Some are awful; some are comical; some in crazy outfits; some taken from driver's licenses ! Sometimes the 92 year old guy will be represented by his military photo from WWII. Often the matriarch of the family who died at 85 will be shown in her debutante picture. The photos tell a tale and have a story behind them as interesting as the person they depict.

Below is a great photo of a Mr. Herbert Stevenson I couldn't resist sharing. What a smile. This says it all.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

A New World for the Obituary: PODCASTS

We are breaking new ground for obituary readers !

1. Podcasts on iTunes ? Yes. Once the sole source of musical offerings, iTunes now offers our audio vignettes for obituaries of the day as well as those of historical significance. These podcasts tell the story of a life, the back stories and unknown facts, the connections to the time and, sometimes, the questions left unanswered.

Posted weekly.

2. Conversations with legendary obituarists. These podcasts offer personal conversations with some of the world's great obituary writers. We discuss the careers of these accomplished writers as well as the funny, sad, unusual or unmentionable--until now--components of their practice.

These conversations also will provide historical links to some of the late obit writers who served as mentors to today's writers and to whom we owe long overdue praise for their significant leadership.

This series of conversations should be a part of every library. It is a ground-breaking element of the history of the art of the obituary.

Posted bi-weekly or as completed.

The inaugural "Conversation with a Legendary Obituarist" welcomes the inimitable Kay Powell, recently retired Obituaries Editor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia. Powell is the recipient of many awards for community service and excellence in writing. In 2008, she was inducted into the International Association of Obituarists Hall of Fame. Carolyn Gilbert's conversation with Kay is now posted on http://www.obitpage.com/ podcast.