Literary Journalists Explore Death
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 17. September 2026
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-041-02679-2 (ISBN)
Description
This volume examines how literary journalism - immersive, long-form journalism so beautifully written that it can stand up as literature - delves into the topic of death and dying.
More than twenty international scholars from six continents draw from an eclectic range of disciplines including media history, media content analysis and cultural studies to offer a balanced and multifaceted exploration of how literary journalists consider the topic of death. Authors explore Svetlana Alexievich's writing about the deaths of Soviet/Russian citizens since 1945, Joan Didion's professional and personal growth while overwhelmed by her own grief, compelling approaches to writing about the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and the challenges faced by a writer immersing herself in the intimate world of palliative care. One writer examines how, early in the 20th century, the editor of a Black newspaper in South Africa, through thoughtful coverage of the death of tribal kings, helped foster in readers a belief in their own nation. The murder of an Aboriginal man in Australia is studied through the work of a reporter investigating the case for six years over multiple platforms. Biased and balanced writing about gay men is considered in Canadian magazines during the AIDS era of the 1980s, and contrasting strategies for writing true crime stories are explored.
Literary Journalists Explore Death will benefit anyone who writes, studies or teaches any form of narrative nonfiction. Its range of vital topics include journalism ethics, Black studies, death studies, journalism and trauma, criminology, LGBT and queer studies, the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, media history and digital journalism.
More than twenty international scholars from six continents draw from an eclectic range of disciplines including media history, media content analysis and cultural studies to offer a balanced and multifaceted exploration of how literary journalists consider the topic of death. Authors explore Svetlana Alexievich's writing about the deaths of Soviet/Russian citizens since 1945, Joan Didion's professional and personal growth while overwhelmed by her own grief, compelling approaches to writing about the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and the challenges faced by a writer immersing herself in the intimate world of palliative care. One writer examines how, early in the 20th century, the editor of a Black newspaper in South Africa, through thoughtful coverage of the death of tribal kings, helped foster in readers a belief in their own nation. The murder of an Aboriginal man in Australia is studied through the work of a reporter investigating the case for six years over multiple platforms. Biased and balanced writing about gay men is considered in Canadian magazines during the AIDS era of the 1980s, and contrasting strategies for writing true crime stories are explored.
Literary Journalists Explore Death will benefit anyone who writes, studies or teaches any form of narrative nonfiction. Its range of vital topics include journalism ethics, Black studies, death studies, journalism and trauma, criminology, LGBT and queer studies, the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, media history and digital journalism.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-041-02679-2 (9781041026792)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
David Swick | Richard Lance Keeble
Literary Journalists Explore Death
E-Book
approx. 09/2026
Routledge
€60.49
Not yet available
David Swick | Richard Lance Keeble
Literary Journalists Explore Death
E-Book
approx. 09/2026
Routledge
€60.49
Not yet available
Persons
David Swick is an associate professor of journalism at the University of King's College, Canada. His work includes CBC Radio documentaries, CBC Radio foreign correspondence, almost 1,800 opinion articles and dozens of magazine articles. He has co-edited four anthologies, most recently the Routledge volume Literary Journalism Goes Inside Prison (2023).
Richard Lance Keeble is Honorary Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln. The author and co-editor of more than 50 books, mainly on media-related issues, he is the joint editor of George Orwell Studies and emeritus editor of Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics.
Richard Lance Keeble is Honorary Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln. The author and co-editor of more than 50 books, mainly on media-related issues, he is the joint editor of George Orwell Studies and emeritus editor of Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics.
Content
Introduction: The Last Correspondents: Literary Journalists Bring Death to Life Part 1: Confronting Death and the Making of History 1. 'They Can Never Die' - Sacco, Vanzetti and Moa Martinson; 2. Writing on the Deaths of African Royals: How Sol T. Plaatje Applied Literary Journalism Techniques; 3. Considering the Deaths of Nonhumans: Inside Svetlana Alexievich's 'Voices of Utopia' Cycle; 4. Epic Exceptionalism: History, Chronotope and The New York Times Obituary Part 2: How Literary Journalists Humanise the Dying 5. Literary Journalists on the Early HIV Epidemic in Canada; 6. Death as the Basis of Morality in Dannie Martin's Prison Journalism; 7. The Grieving Writer: Intertextuality as Companionship in Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking; 8. Facing Death: Life-Threatening Illness in Memoir as Literary Journalism Part 3: War And the Pity of Dying 9. Rising From Gaza Ruins: Bearing Witness with Abu-Sayf; 10. Shared Grief, Divided Worlds: The Representation of Child Loss in The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; 11. Struggle And Introspection: Three Journalists on Enduring War in Ukraine Part 4: Crafting Meaning from Death: International Perspectives 12. The Death Storytellers: When Narrative Journalists in Romania Reach Beyond Life; 13. Seeing The Dying with The 'Gaze, Depth and Language of a Novelist': Considering the Work of Susana Moreira Marques; 14. Truth To Power: Using Multi-Platform Literary Journalism to Investigate Racism and Death in Australia; 15. Ghosts Of the Tsunami: In Response to Catastrophic Loss, a Listening Literary Journalism; 16. A Post-Mortem Perspective on Oneself - The Gonzo Way; 17. Death Goes Digital: The Rebirth and Evolution of Literary Journalism Through Human-Focused Multimedia Storytelling; Afterword: Last Words,; Index