Written in Stone Message Board

Anyone else noticed that we seem to have a spike in losing writers during the winter months?

I've been reading The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson. In it one of her observations is that people who may not even know each other, but have similar histories, tend to leave in clusters. For the purposes of this group I've noticed that in a recent cluster of Soviet era and eastern bloc writers as well in recent flurry of departures by famed cartoonists. Anyone else notice any connections?

I have not been able to get into the Literary Cemetery website for some time. Does anyone know its fate?

Would this be it?
http://theliterarycemetery.blogspot.com

Here's an interesting site posted in the 50 Somethings Group. http://www.findagrave.com/

varielle will be on vacation for a bit, so if any of you have a morbid propensity to read obituaries, please keep up with the dead poets, writers and anybody else who ever held a pen.

Goodness, I just discovered this group. As a habitual obituary reader, I'm delighted!

The Daily Telegraph comments on the art of the obituary. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9047401/The-Art-of-the-Obituary.html

Excellent article!

After Tuesday I will be off cruising the Baltic until the 23rd. I'm sure there will be plenty of dead writers kicking the bucket during that time so please feel free to update as needed.

Enjoy your cruise!

I'm off to Alaska for a few. Keep up the good work minding the Dead Poets, etc.

Sheesh, you know this means I'll swamp the Group with incorrect touchstones and the most obscure recently deceased "authors" on the planet! How can you, in good conscience, leave us again so soon, varielle???

Seriously, have a Fantastic Voyage and I'll try not to ruin September. ;-)

The more obscure the better. ;)

PhaedraB kindly explained to me that touchstones only work for books/authors that have already been catalogued on LT, so I have a question for the Group: Would it be considered unethical for me to rotate uncatalogued/obscure writers and their works onto my WISH LIST as I come across them, in order to create working touchstones for them?

Or you could create a separate collection just for that purpose, entitled "Uncatalogued authors" or some such, so as to keep your wishlist clean. I can't see how doing this would adversely affect anyone else's data or statistics.

Oh, that's a great idea, laytonwoman3rd!

Anyone else have an opinion, one way or the other?

> 16, 17
I have a "phantom books" collection for that sort of thing (I've mostly used it for creating book/author for events in LT Local).

Sounds like you're all on the right track!

15, 16, 17, 18>

As long as the count stays under 200, you could open a separate free account just for the phantom books.

Thank you, Everyone, for your comments and suggestions. I'm going to wait until varielle gets back and weighs in (-well, you won't really have to weigh in, varielle, seeing as you've been on a cruise!) before I "do" anything. :-)

I think it's a great idea. I've often come across notable writers, particularly from the non-English speaking world, who don't exist on LT, but would certainly be worth mentioning.

Good. :-)

I've set up a 'collection' in my library called "W.I.S. authors/works", have gone back through my posts to properly enter the works in question and convert my html tags to touchstone brackets. Also, I'm hunting down as many covers as I can find, just to give these "unknown" works a real home. I'll spot the LT system a day or two to get completely updated before whining to Tim if the touchstones still aren't working for these works by then.

varielle is off to the land of Eire to look up some living poets in a pub somewhere. Keep up with the dead ones while she's gone.

varielle has to go under the knife on Monday, so may be pretty quiet for a while. Keep up with the dead folk while I'm gone.

Hey, varielle, I hope you're faring well, and that "under the knife" did not allude to an imminent date with the guillotine. In anticipation of your return to this group I've refrained from noting the passing of significant 20th Century hawks and look forward to your remarks upon them.

Really, I hope all is well with you and that you'll be back soon to steer this group aright, as I've already mangled a few touchstones during your absence...

27--varielle has done a fantastic job over the years. Hoping she'll be back soon too.

I couldn't agree more, lriley. varielle's contributions to this and several other groups exemplify the "extra mile" attentiveness of LT's stalwart members; with such devotion it's no wonder that LibraryThing has become *the* premiere site for bibliophiles around the world, eh?

Get well soon, varielle, or I'm likely to break the "touchstones" feature once and for all! ;-)

I'm mending and home with a new knee, but until I'm off the pain meds it may be best that you carry on playing with those touchstones. Thanks for the good wishes.

Ah! New knee! A couple of friends of mine have endured similar transmogrifications and gone on to break 100 on the golf course, so all bodes well.

Truly glad you've still got your head, varielle; thanks for checking in and you can count on me to butcher touchstones until you return. :-D

Getting a new knee was the best thing I ever did! Just keep doing your physical therapy (and if you're like me, cursing the physical therapist) and you'll be up and at 'em in no time!

It has at long last occurred to me that you're malingering, varielle, since you very likely type LT posts with your fingers, not your knees! I am forthwith ordering (read that as "begging") you to resume your position as this Group's guiding light before I sink it with unfathomable touchstones! (Seriously, along with everyone else I hope you're mending well --and I really DO look forward to your return. Which will be soon, yes? It's time to start the December 2012 thread, and you *know* I'll screw it up!) ;-)

I'll see what I can do today. Part of my problem has been my pain meds making me feel cross eyed after reading a paragraph or two. So, my plan to knock out a book a day has not worked out.

varielle is running away to Key West to defrost her frozen bones. Keep up with the dead folk while I'm gone.

The Daily Telegraph at the Hay Book Festival talking about what makes a great obituary.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/hay-festival/10086717/Harry-de-Quetteville-ex...

varielle is off to the Vaterland to explore her ancestral stomping grounds for a few weeks. Keep up with the dead folks.

varielle is off again. This time to the beach. I'll not likely have much access to media so watch out for dead writers. If there are any hanging out at the beach I'll let you know.

Unfortunately, varielle will be getting a new knee on Thursday and will be out of commission for some time. Keep up with our notable obituaries.

Varielle, sorry to hear about the knee surgery :-/ but will playfully note that you used this same excuse a year ago and if it surfaces again @ Christmas 2014 I am going to start a rumor that you're an insect :-D

Seriously, hope all goes well and wish you a speedy, painless recovery!

That would be so Kafkaesque. I only have 2 knees so I'm fresh out. When my eyes aren't crossed from pain meds or I'm not nodding off in my soup I will try to stick my nose in a bit. My typing skills have deteriorated in the last few days. Please carry on and I'll try to return on a regular basis soon.

Best wishes for a smooth recovery.

Congratulations on the new appendage!

Dear mildly ghoulish peeps, I will be cruising with the Vikings for a while and will be out of pocket until the 21st. Keep up with the dead folk while I'm gone.

Varielle is off to London to look at the queen and see if she looks back. Keep up with the dead folk while she's gone. * royal wave *

varielle is off to Aruba to defrost her frozen bones. January has so far not been a healthy month for writers. Keep up with them while I'm gone.

Mildly ghoulish, but relevant to this group, this article features a book by Jack Mord (Could that possibly be a fake name) called Beyond the Dark Veil: Post Mortem and Mourning Photography from the Thanatos Archive. Interesting pics. http://hyperallergic.com/214713/the-lost-ritual-of-photographing-the-dead/

no messages in 5 days! Has something happened to Varielle or has the grim reaper spared all authors?

Varielle ran off to Germany for a while to tramp the ancestral homeland, but she's back in action.

>48 varielle: Thank goodness, and welcome back!

In trying to catch this up it appears all the writers decided to drop dead while I was on vacation. Whew!

Varielle will be flying away for a few weeks. Death Takes a Holiday is unlikely to happen so please keep up with the dead writers while I'm gone.

Varielle is sailing away again and will have limited access to news and internet. Keep up with the literary deceased while I'm gone.

Varielle is off to see if the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain. Keep up with the dead folks while I'm gone.

>53 varielle: Welcome back! Attempted to fill in for you; forgot that posts can't be entirely deleted, so when I decided to arrange those I'd made willy-nilly into chronological order I wound up with leftover 'blank' posts, which I marked as 'placeholders'. Will fill in the last one thus marked and then skip off until your next voyage~

Thanks for keeping them up. Carry on. 😘

Obit pals, I’ve started a new group for folks to talk about authors they’ve actually met. Come join me. https://www.librarything.com/groups/meettheauthor

Varielle is off to the land of Sir Walter Scott and Robbie Burns. Keep up with the dead folks for me.

I thought this article on the Swedish art of death cleaning might appeal to this morbid bunch. Downsize now and save your kids a headache. https://www.southernliving.com/syndication/death-cleaning-declutter?utm_source=f...

Varielle is moving this week with limited access to the internet. Mind the dead folks.

Varielle is off to cruise the Danube. Keep up with the dead writers while I'm gone.

Varielle s going under the knife and may not be coherent enough to monitor the dead folks for a while. Carry on.

#61--good luck and hopefully it's nothing serious.

Under the knife:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg3rgLiDXE0
Good luck!

We are running far ahead of our normal average this month and the month’s not over yet. I fear it’s for an obvious reason. :’(

#64--I would say to people to stay safe. Don't make unnecessary trips and keep your distance from people when you do go out. This is probably going to go on for a while.

It does seem the mortality rate for April and June was extraordinarily high for obvious reasons. May is light in comparison. It makes me think that so many people Have been dying in the pandemic that some have been overlooked.

For those of you with a statistical bent, it appears that the cause of death from coronavirus among our writers peaked in April and has been slowly declining. A good sign I hope. I noted the cause in bold only when it was publicly announced so I’m sure there were more. If you are aware of any that need updates please let me know and I’ll go back and edit.

#67--a lot of them were more elderly as well. That said there is quite a lot of speculation that the virus is going to spike again in the fall and winter months. I hardly think we're out of the woods yet. The more people wear masks and socially distance and stay away from situations that put them at risk the better. The more testing the better as well. Find out who has it and stop them from spreading it. The asymptomatic thing is a complicating factor.

<68 lriley you were right. The rate of Notable writers dying of corona is picking up again.

Do you ever look at the assortment of people that die at about the same time and wonder what they would talk about at a dinner party? I was looking at some I posted today and wondered what the evangelist, the surfer mom, the R&B singer, the Holocaust survivor, and the shoe guy would have to say to each other.

I love that thought

>70 varielle:
Something about soul/sole..

>72 Crypto-Willobie: Groan!

>73 elkiedee:
Well, almost grown...

New here. Pocket bio: Retired humanities teacher, residing in Tlaxcala, Mexico, with two dogs and six indoor cats. Passionate about literature, history, philosophy, classical music and opera, jazz, cinema, and similar subjects. Nostalgic guy. Politically centrist. BA in American Studies from Yale; MAs in English and Education from Boston University. Born in northern New Jersey. Have lived and worked in San Francisco, Chicago, northern Nevada, northeast Wisconsin, South Korea.

Varielle is jetting away for a bit and will have limited access to the internet. Keep up with the dead writers while she’s gone.

>76 varielle: Have a good trip!

Varielle will be out of pocket until January with limited internet access. Keep up with the dead writers while I’m gone.