I am a fan of Robertson Davies, the Canadian novelist, playwright, and journalist, who died in 1995. My favorite tribute to Davies at the time of his death was an elegant newspaper advertisement placed by Penguin Books, Davies’ publisher in paperback. The advertisement was quite simple, consisting of a photograph of Davies, the dates of his birth and death, and the final paragraph of The Cunning Man, his last completed novel:

…this is the Great Theatre of Life.
Admission is free but the taxation is
mortal. You come when you can,
and leave when you must.
The show is continuous. Good-night.

Robertson Davies

Note: Originally posted June 8, 2006 at 1HeckOfAGuy.com, a predecessor of AllanShowalter.com