Remembrances and Celebrations: A Book of Eulogies, Elegies, Letters, and Epitaphs

Comprised of eulogies from the 20th century, as well as, poetic elegies, condolence letters and tombstone epitaphs spanning from the 17th century to the present, this eclectic sourcebook offers inspiration for anyone seeking to memorialize a loved one. Since the mourners and the dead in each instance are well-known writers (Lillian Hellman eulogizes Dashiell Hammett) and public figures (Reverend Jesse Jackson lays Jackie Robinson to rest), the collection is a bonanza for the morbidly minded browser as well. The authors vary in skill, but all of the tributes are characterized by genuine feelings of loss. Outstanding examples include Wallace Stegner's moving eulogy for his mother and Noa Ben Artzi-Pelossof's simple, passionate declaration of love for her grandfather, Yitzhak Rabin. Many of the condolence letters are of historical interest, such as Abigail Adams's condolences to her estranged friend Thomas Jefferson upon the death of his daughter. Also included is the letter accused spy Ethel Rosenberg wrote to her sons on the day she and her husband were executed. Whereas most of the elegies by poets Dickinson, Longfellow and others are consoling, some of the inscriptions in the short selection of epitaphs provide a dose of leavening humor: ""Here lie my husbands One Two Three, Dumb as men could ever be."" (June)