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Remembrances and Celebrations: A Book of Eulogies, Elegies, Letters, and Epitaphs
This is a collection of powerful and inspirational responses to loss and to the age-old impulse to honor and memorialize the uniqueness of each human being.
For the bereaved, the ritual of delivering a eulogy can seem insurmountably difficult. Remembrances and Celebrations provides gentle guidance in this profoundly important task, with a wide range of examples of memorial tributes and expressions of bereavement drawn from both the famous and the obscure, from ancient times to the present.
Here are the words of famous Henry Miller's homage to Anais Nin, Lillian Hellman's eulogy for Dashiell Hammett. Here are fallen heroes commemorated, in the heartfelt words of Yitzhak Rabin's granddaughter at his funeral, in Ossie Davis's farewell to Malcolm X, in Earl Spencer's tribute to the Princess of Wales. Here, too, are moving Charles Dickens to his wife on the death of their daughter, Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson on his daughter's death, an anonymous Royal Air Force pilot to his mother on the eve of his final battle.
Auden's "Funeral Blues" is here, along with the Cavafy poem recited by Maurice Tempelsman at Jacqueline Onassis' service. And there is room for humor as well, as in Hilaire Belloc's famous epitaph, "When I am dead, I hope it may be said, 'His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.'"
Remembrances and Celebrations is a comforting and affecting anthology of the literature of mourning, and a welcome aid in times of our own bereavement.
For the bereaved, the ritual of delivering a eulogy can seem insurmountably difficult. Remembrances and Celebrations provides gentle guidance in this profoundly important task, with a wide range of examples of memorial tributes and expressions of bereavement drawn from both the famous and the obscure, from ancient times to the present.
Here are the words of famous Henry Miller's homage to Anais Nin, Lillian Hellman's eulogy for Dashiell Hammett. Here are fallen heroes commemorated, in the heartfelt words of Yitzhak Rabin's granddaughter at his funeral, in Ossie Davis's farewell to Malcolm X, in Earl Spencer's tribute to the Princess of Wales. Here, too, are moving Charles Dickens to his wife on the death of their daughter, Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson on his daughter's death, an anonymous Royal Air Force pilot to his mother on the eve of his final battle.
Auden's "Funeral Blues" is here, along with the Cavafy poem recited by Maurice Tempelsman at Jacqueline Onassis' service. And there is room for humor as well, as in Hilaire Belloc's famous epitaph, "When I am dead, I hope it may be said, 'His sins were scarlet, but his books were read.'"
Remembrances and Celebrations is a comforting and affecting anthology of the literature of mourning, and a welcome aid in times of our own bereavement.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 19, 2021
Reflective book on death and its meaning. I particularly enjoyed getting to read the eulogies and letters for/by notable persons such as T.S. Eliot, Winston Churchill, Malcom X, Yitzhak Rabin by King Hussein and Rabin’s granddaughter, MLK Jr., Daniel Webster, Robert Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, Stephen Biko by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Karl Marx, Jackie Robinson, Gandhi, Princess Diana, Abe Lincoln, Cicero, Lord Byron, Emerson, C.S. Lewis, Dickens, Mozart, and King Henry VIII.
The comical “eulogy” for Benjamin Franklin by Mark Twain, written 80 years after Franklin’s death, was one of my favorites, with Twain blaming Franklin for malevolently working all day and sitting up nights studying “so that all other boys might have to do that also or else have Benjamin Franklin thrown up to them.”
Minus 1 star for a couple reasons:
(1) Organization. It wasn’t clear why some pieces were in the “letters” vs. “eulogies” section.
(2) The last two sections of the book, elegies and epitaphs, did not particularly resonate with me like the first two sections, though perhaps I need to read more poetry to have a better appreciation.
Finally, there were numerous formatting issues in the Kindle version of this book. It wasn’t too noticeable until the last two sections, where the distracting inconsistencies in italicizing and poem labeling likely detracted from my ability to appreciate the writing.
The comical “eulogy” for Benjamin Franklin by Mark Twain, written 80 years after Franklin’s death, was one of my favorites, with Twain blaming Franklin for malevolently working all day and sitting up nights studying “so that all other boys might have to do that also or else have Benjamin Franklin thrown up to them.”
Minus 1 star for a couple reasons:
(1) Organization. It wasn’t clear why some pieces were in the “letters” vs. “eulogies” section.
(2) The last two sections of the book, elegies and epitaphs, did not particularly resonate with me like the first two sections, though perhaps I need to read more poetry to have a better appreciation.
Finally, there were numerous formatting issues in the Kindle version of this book. It wasn’t too noticeable until the last two sections, where the distracting inconsistencies in italicizing and poem labeling likely detracted from my ability to appreciate the writing.
Want to Read
December 17, 2012I can't for the life of me remember why I put this book on hold at the library, but I have it now. At first I was reluctant to read Remembrances and Celebrations because I have so many other books piling up and the topic of death can be a bummer, but I am glad I cracked it open.
The first Eulogy for T.S. Eliot is fantastic and I can only hope someone will say such kind words about me when I die. Wallace Stegner's eulogy for his mother captures the way many people must feel after losing a parent, that we must still make them proud even after they are gone.
The first Eulogy for T.S. Eliot is fantastic and I can only hope someone will say such kind words about me when I die. Wallace Stegner's eulogy for his mother captures the way many people must feel after losing a parent, that we must still make them proud even after they are gone.
June 30, 2014
Wonderful, thoughtful book on the letters, eulogies and epitaphs of various figures throughout history, like W.H. Auden, Abraham Lincoln and Charlotte Brontë. I think it could've been great if they had a section dealing with today's funerals & memorial services and what to say, with condolence letters for religious/secular ceremonies and loved ones or associates. Good resource though.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews