Funeral reading
The Dash
Linda Ellis
“The Dash” by Linda Ellis is a poem read at a funeral or memorial service. It takes about a minute and a half read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is still in copyright, so the words are not reprinted here — the reader brings a printed copy.
Why the words are not printed here
Still in copyright, and unusually actively enforced — do not reproduce any part of it, including in a printed order of service, without a license from the author. Buy the license or choose something else.
Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.
What it is about
Widely used and actively licensed. Get permission before you print a word of it.
Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: the dash between the dates · how you spent your life · popular at memorials.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “The Dash” take to read aloud?
“The Dash” takes about a minute and a half read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “The Dash”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “The Dash” runs about a minute and a half, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “The Dash” be printed in a ceremony script?
Not by us. It is still in copyright, so we name it and point you at a copy rather than reprinting the words. Still in copyright, and unusually actively enforced — do not reproduce any part of it, including in a printed order of service, without a license from the author. Buy the license or choose something else.
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the life, the remembrances, the committal — and knowing what comes next. Answer some questions about them and get the whole service, written out, with this reading in its place.