David Berman, "the reluctant songwriter and poet whose dry baritone and wry, wordy compositions anchored Silver Jews, a critically lauded staple of the 1990s indie-rock scene," died August 7, the New York Times reported. He was 52. As the sole constant member of Silver Jews, Berman released six albums using the band name, including "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea" in 2008, before disbanding the group the following year.
This summer Berman "re-emerged with a new album under a new band name, Purple Mountains, and Drag City has re-issued his first and only book of poems, Actual Air [1999], in hardcover," the Poetry Foundation wrote last month in an interview where he spoke of influential teacher/mentors like James Tate and Charles Wright.
Actual Air had earned back-cover blurbs from Tate and former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins, the Los Angeles Times noted, adding: "Berman's most admired poem, 'Self Portrait at 28,' opens with the line, 'I know it's a bad title/ but I'm giving it to myself as a gift,' before cascading into a free-wheeling work on 'the uselessness of a teenager's promise' and technology that 'will eventually give us new feelings.' "
In the introduction to a recent City Pages interview, Jay Boller wrote: "In both his songs and his poems, Berman snugly fit dazzling imagery, razor-sharp wordplay, effortless humor, and world-weary melancholy into deft couplets, all delivered through his drawling, unmistakable deadpan growl. The musical arrangements that showcased his lyricism ranged from cowboy shuffles to mournful twang to herky-jerky psychedelia."
Poet and writer Hanif Abdurraqib tweeted: "David Berman was so unafraid of publicly wrestling with his own sadness, and so unafraid of being honest about what it is to sometimes lose that wrestling match. There are so many ways to feel small while tumbling through the world. Berman made a few seem comforting."