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Love Letters to the Dead: Resurrecting an Epistolary Art.

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Title: Love Letters to the Dead: Resurrecting an Epistolary Art.
Authors: Lander, Dorothy A.1 dlander@stfx.ca, Graham-Pole, John R.2
Source: Omega: Journal of Death & Dying. 2008/2009, Vol. 58 Issue 4, p313-333. 21p. 2 Illustrations.
Subject Terms: Letter writing, Graphotherapy, Love letters, Epistolary fiction, Communication & psychology, Death & psychology, Bereavement, Healing, Loss (Psychology), Dead
Abstract: This article explores the art of letter-writing, specifically to our beloved dead, as a form of autoethnographic research, pedagogy, and care work. As university teachers and qualitative researchers in palliative and end-of-life care, we review the literature and history of epistolary communications with the deceased, as a prelude to writing our own letters. John writes to his long-dead mother and Dorothy to her recently deceased spouse Patrick, each letter followed by a reflective dialogue between us. Through this dialogue, we highlight the potential application of this art, or handcraft, to formal and informal palliative care, and the implications for practice, pedagogy, policy, and research. We propose that such direct, non-mediated, communications can offer a valuable form of healing for bereaved people. The therapeutic potential of letter writing and the abundance of literary and popular culture exemplars of responses from the dead are also largely unexplored in death education and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Omega: Journal of Death & Dying is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: Love Letters to the Dead: Resurrecting an Epistolary Art.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lander%2C+Dorothy+A%2E%22">Lander, Dorothy A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> dlander@stfx.ca</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Graham-Pole%2C+John+R%2E%22">Graham-Pole, John R.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Omega%3A+Journal+of+Death+%26+Dying%22">Omega: Journal of Death & Dying</searchLink>. 2008/2009, Vol. 58 Issue 4, p313-333. 21p. 2 Illustrations.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Letter+writing%22">Letter writing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Graphotherapy%22">Graphotherapy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Love+letters%22">Love letters</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Epistolary+fiction%22">Epistolary fiction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communication+%26+psychology%22">Communication & psychology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Death+%26+psychology%22">Death & psychology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bereavement%22">Bereavement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Healing%22">Healing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Loss+%28Psychology%29%22">Loss (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Dead%22">Dead</searchLink>
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  Data: This article explores the art of letter-writing, specifically to our beloved dead, as a form of autoethnographic research, pedagogy, and care work. As university teachers and qualitative researchers in palliative and end-of-life care, we review the literature and history of epistolary communications with the deceased, as a prelude to writing our own letters. John writes to his long-dead mother and Dorothy to her recently deceased spouse Patrick, each letter followed by a reflective dialogue between us. Through this dialogue, we highlight the potential application of this art, or handcraft, to formal and informal palliative care, and the implications for practice, pedagogy, policy, and research. We propose that such direct, non-mediated, communications can offer a valuable form of healing for bereaved people. The therapeutic potential of letter writing and the abundance of literary and popular culture exemplars of responses from the dead are also largely unexplored in death education and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Omega: Journal of Death & Dying is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=37000087
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        Value: 10.2190/OM.58.4.d
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        StartPage: 313
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Graphotherapy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Love letters
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      – SubjectFull: Epistolary fiction
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      – SubjectFull: Communication & psychology
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      – SubjectFull: Death & psychology
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      – SubjectFull: Bereavement
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      – SubjectFull: Healing
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      – SubjectFull: Loss (Psychology)
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      – SubjectFull: Dead
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      – TitleFull: Love Letters to the Dead: Resurrecting an Epistolary Art.
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            NameFull: Lander, Dorothy A.
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            NameFull: Graham-Pole, John R.
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              Text: 2008/2009
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