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. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2010]