The Evolution of Obituaries

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In terms of the structure of the newspaper, certain rules and procedures have not been imposed on obituaries that are imposed on other news stories. What do you think are the differences between British and American obituaries? Well, that's a huge question, and because I'm not a historian of journalism, I can't account for how it's evolved. That's beyond my can. But at the same time, because we have wonderful, marqueename writers in our section, Biff Grimes, Bruce Weber, Sam Roberts. Margulie Fox. We are able to put a really interesting gloss, gloss in perhaps both senses of the term, on top of this basic structure that has

The stereotypical obituary is a formulaic recitation of facts — dry, boring, and without craft. But Margalit Fox has shown the genre can produce some of the most memorable and moving stories in journalism. Exploiting its “pure narrative arc,” Fox has penned over 1,200 obituaries, covering well-known and obscure subjects with equal aplomb.

In her conversation with Tyler Cowen, Fox reveals not only the process for writing an obituary, but her thoughts on life, death, storytelling, puzzle-solving, her favorite cellist, and how it came to be that an economist sang opera 86 times at the Met.

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