“Speaker for the Dead” by Orson Scott Card

by Angelica Walker-WerthArt & CultureNov 6, 2024

Alexander is a Speaker for the Dead renowned throughout his interplanetary society. When someone dies, he (or another of the same vocation) travels to where the deceased lived and talks to the people who knew him or her. Once the Speaker understands the person’s context and decisions, he gathers the community for a Speaking. This is referred to as “speaking their deaths”; in them, he tries to. . .

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