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- Simplify Me When I'm Dead
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- Miranda Diboll
It was the Ladbroke Grove rail crash in October 1999 that inspired me to make this piece. To have your death mentioned in the media you have to either be famous or a victim of a tragedy considered newsworthy.
The train driver who was killed in the disaster went from obscurity to having his face printed in the national press alongside quotes from his family, friends and colleagues. Some blamed his lack of driving experience for the accident while others saw him as innocent as the other victims of the crash, the passengers.
His life had been simplified through the media.
Running through the piece is the poem 'Simplify Me When I'm Dead' by WW2 poet Keith Douglas.
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Piece Description
It was the Ladbroke Grove rail crash in October 1999 that inspired me to make this piece. To have your death mentioned in the media you have to either be famous or a victim of a tragedy considered newsworthy. The train driver who was killed in the disaster went from obscurity to having his face printed in the national press alongside quotes from his family, friends and colleagues. Some blamed his lack of driving experience for the accident while others saw him as innocent as the other victims of the crash, the passengers. His life had been simplified through the media. Running through the piece is the poem 'Simplify Me When I'm Dead' by WW2 poet Keith Douglas.
2 Comments
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Review of Simplify Me When I'm DeadI like pieces that are trying something different. This piece stands out not on the reporting or commentary but in it's the sum of the individual elements; angelic vocalizing, a potent reading of a poem (my favorite line: "and leave me simpler than at birth."). If you use this piece, you'll need a strong introduction else it might be confusing. Great feel, different piece. Not your usual PR fare. I adore reports like this. Though, this isn't truly a report as it is a commentary on how we distill a life into a short phrases, perhaps a paragraph if we're feeling generous. Having said that, it does spend a bit of time talking about the train accident itself. Then, a voice says, "you couldn't even find the driver's body, it had been atomized." Then with a few broad strokes we all start to get to know the driver, held at least partially responsible for the accident. |
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lamb | John Tavener | Innocence. | Arc of Light | 1995 | 00:57 |
| Howling In Ojai | Eddie Reader | Eddie Reader. | Blanco Y Negro | 1994 | 01:14 |
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Lawrence Lanahan
Posted on May 09, 2007 at 12:56 PM | Permalink
Review of Simplify Me When I'm Dead
Most obituaries compress a life, but in just a couple of minutes, this piece manages to expand one. If it is, in fact, an obituary--perhaps it's different kind of reflection. This lovely mix of poetry, news, and music makes me think differently about the tragedy of a life cut short, and it challenges the cookie-cutter narrative into which we usually place such stories. I couldn't mistake this piece for anything else I've heard.