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Ken Auletta did a major New Yorker profile of Arthur Sulzberger Jr. at the end of last year, and at one point in it he described Bill Keller, the Times editor, as "at times, given to strange jokes." We took that to refer to Keller's inexplicable affection for something-in-the-water-that-makes-your-penis-fall-off punchlines. (See: Here and here.)

But apparently Keller's odd sense of humor extends beyond just penis envy. Today he circulated a memo announcing a new obituaries editor at the Times. It's a long and surprisingly florid announcement — the "soft hands" part is particularly intriguing — but the oddest bit comes at the end:

"Bill takes over as soon as he has finished polishing Pulitzer nominations...," Keller says of the appointee, Bill McDonald. "Before long, people will be dying for his attention."

It would seem the AME for metaphor position is still vacant.

The full memo is after the jump.

From: Bill Keller
Date: Jan 30, 2006 2:12 PM
Subject: A New Obits Editor
To: newsroom@nytimes.com

Colleagues:

"Obituaries tell us not only about who died, but who lived — and how." Thus Marvin Siegel, introducing that splendid anthology of New York Times obits published in 1997 as "The Last Word." That book includes obits by many of the finest writers at The Times and some from the literary world beyond, along with eminent specialists in the form. It's a reminder that obit-writing is a journalistic form in which this paper has always taken special pride.

With Chuck Strum's move to the night desk, we searched for an editor who could live up to that pride and deliver us the kind of biographic miniatures worthy of the next hard-cover volume, let alone our own pages. We're happy to report that we found Bill McDonald.

Dan Lewis once wrote of Bill that he has "the high talents prized by newspaper editors and baseball managers alike: soft hands, creative reflexes and a clear head." His work for Metro, the National Desk, the Investigative Unit, the Style Department and especially in the Culture Department has also demonstrated that he has skills of specific value to an obituary editor: a voracious and wide-ranging curiosity, and a gift for entrepreneurial editing — essential in a job where much of the work is performed by reporters who work day jobs for someone else. He has an eye for felicitous writing and the ability (those "soft hands") to supply it himself when necessary.

Bill takes over as soon as he has finished polishing Pulitzer nominations and has been indoctrinated by Mr. Strum. Before long, people will be dying for his attention.

Bill, Jill and John