Lots of people mourn when famous writers and musicians die. Why?
What we talk about when we talk about dead artists
After Alexander Pushkin was shot in a duel in 1837, crowds of mourners formed in St Petersburg. Russia’s nervy authorities moved his funeral service and mustered 60,000 troops. When the wagon bearing the poet’s body reached Pskov province, where he was to be interred, devotees tried to unharness the horses and pull it themselves.
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This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “The art of dying”
Culture September 9th 2023
- Thanks to Morgan Wallen, country music’s popularity has surged
- Simon Schama’s “Foreign Bodies” tracks the history of vaccines
- Lots of people mourn when famous writers and musicians die. Why?
- Zadie Smith’s new novel revives a 150-year-old court case
- A history of the papacy and its relationship with Rome
- Trevor Noah’s tour spotlights South African comedy
From the September 9th 2023 edition
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