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Other People’s Words Episode 7: “Behind Each Number, One Beloved Face,” by Malcolm Guite

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“One death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.” Versions of this quote, sometimes attributed to Joseph Stalin in 1947 or a French diplomat or German satirist in 1925, depending on who you ask, succinctly explains the numbness that the world feels at the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic, which stands at 2,285,048 at the time of this recording, according to the World Health Organization.

What is the opposite of losing the forest for the trees? We are bombarded with these numbers every day and the death of one person can seem…well, unimportant to us. But it is important, in fact, essential to someone.

Aaron Billard reads a poem entitled “Behind Each Number, One Beloved Face,” written by Malcolm Guite, that helps us to remember the worth of each and every person that has died from this disease.

This episode was scored, produced, and edited by Andy Wicks.

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