“Not Dead”: a lively view of an obituary writer
As “Not Dead Yet” debuts on ABC, we’re reminded of a key literary fact:
Few art forms can match the combination –facts and flair, done on a deadline – of an obituary.
“This tight little coil of biography, with its literary flourishes, reminds us of a poem,” obit-writer Marilyn Johnson wrote in “The Dead Beat” (HarperCollins, 2006). “Certainly, it contains the most creative writing in journalism.”
And now – after piles of shows about cops and cowboys and such – there’s one about an obit writer. “Not Dead Yet” (shown here) debuts at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 8) on ABC, then settles into the 9:30 slot. Read more…