Looking at Death with Writer's Eyes: Developing Protocols for Utilising Roadside Memorials in Creative Writing Classes

"A person telling her life story is, in a sense, offering up herself for her own and her listener's scrutiny ... Whether we should appropriate another's life in this way becomes a legitimate question." --Daphne PataiAt various times since 1998, I have taken groups of tertiary-level creative writing students to a local cemetery as part of a life writing class. Seeking to inspire biographical and autobiographical research and writing, I have found that these excursions also provided students with a fascinating insight into local history and the individuals who populated past eras, as well as a germane frame for discussions on the ethics of life writing and the biographical subject's right to privacy. In addition, these cemetery visits have furnished a useful foundation in developing protocols for students to follow when utilising roadside memorials in a similar manner; however, a consideration of the unique nature of roadside memorials is essential in planning such an excursion.