At 4pm yesterday (LA time), Miriam Silverberg was taken off life support, and she passed away at 4am today. You can learn more about Miriam and her work here, here, and also here. I was only a peripheral presence in Miriam's life. She was always encouraging and good to me in our infrequent conversations and correspondence over the past 16 or 17 years. Like many, I have appreciated her scholarly works, such as this piece, a great deal. She was the advisor of a woman I respect and like a lot, and she was a dear friend of my advisor and dear friend. Over the past year or so, I received heartfelt and often heartbroken updates from my advisor as Miriam suffered more and more complications and set-backs to recovery. I remember the first time I saw her in 1990 or 1991, I was really blown away. She walked into a small room at the University of Michigan to give a lecture. She was wearing an elaborate and colorful Russian shawl, and she seemed really tall and sophisticated. Her talk, on images of the "modern girl" in 1920s Japan, was very inspiring to me as I was just beginning my graduate school journey. I was nervous and a bit disorganized when I tried asking a question afterwards, but she was very warm and generous, making my feeble attempt to respond to her talk seem like a really smart question. I have heard about hard, complicated, and painful times she had. Because I was never close enough to experience the struggles with her, all my memories of her have a kind of limited or isolated perfection. I only knew her as healthy, energetic, and kind.
16 March, 2008
Miriam Silverberg
At 4pm yesterday (LA time), Miriam Silverberg was taken off life support, and she passed away at 4am today. You can learn more about Miriam and her work here, here, and also here. I was only a peripheral presence in Miriam's life. She was always encouraging and good to me in our infrequent conversations and correspondence over the past 16 or 17 years. Like many, I have appreciated her scholarly works, such as this piece, a great deal. She was the advisor of a woman I respect and like a lot, and she was a dear friend of my advisor and dear friend. Over the past year or so, I received heartfelt and often heartbroken updates from my advisor as Miriam suffered more and more complications and set-backs to recovery. I remember the first time I saw her in 1990 or 1991, I was really blown away. She walked into a small room at the University of Michigan to give a lecture. She was wearing an elaborate and colorful Russian shawl, and she seemed really tall and sophisticated. Her talk, on images of the "modern girl" in 1920s Japan, was very inspiring to me as I was just beginning my graduate school journey. I was nervous and a bit disorganized when I tried asking a question afterwards, but she was very warm and generous, making my feeble attempt to respond to her talk seem like a really smart question. I have heard about hard, complicated, and painful times she had. Because I was never close enough to experience the struggles with her, all my memories of her have a kind of limited or isolated perfection. I only knew her as healthy, energetic, and kind.
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16 comments:
Thank you for the news, Adrienne.
I never knew much about Miriam, but her work continues to impress me and fired the weird academic and pop culture connections in my brain.
As I read this, I'm working my way slowly through her amazing book, Erotic Grotesque Nonsense, which is filling in gaps in my awareness about a subject I find increasingly interesting.
I'm sad to hear of this loss-- I just wanted to add my admirations and condolences too.
Best,
Ryan
That is so sweet, Ryan. Thank you for leaving your comment. You are a good guy.
I came across this page after i googled Miriam's name. My name is Katie Silverberg and I am Miriam's niece. Thank you for all the kind words that you have said. Miriam was a one of a kind intellectual that I spend most of my time bragging out. We were very close. A couple years ago when she was unable to type due to shaking hands, her assistant would type to me from her sidekick, and we were able to keep in touch throughout the day. It has been hard not being able to speak to her this past year, and knowing that her health was failing. I miss her terribly, and it is nice to know that she had an effect on people.
Oh, Katie, I am so very sorry for your loss. Your aunt definitely had a very profound impact on the lives of many. I'm sending you lots of sympathy.
Hello. I stumbled upon this page after googling Miriam's name. I was an undergraduate student in Professor Silverberg's course in 2003 and was shocked and incredibly saddened to hear about her passing from an email I received from the Center for the Study of WOmen. Professor Silverberg was an amazing and inspiring Professor. She was always friendly and supportive. Her warmth was infection. She used to come into a store on Sawtelle that I used to work at, and she would always stop to chat with me about Japanese pop culture. Will there be any event honoring her life? I will really miss her.
Our daughter guided us to this site and what can I say...your kind words mean so very much to our family at this time of deep sadness. We always knew she was brilliant--but that's not what we will miss most about her 'way'...she could be very funny at times and her 'giggle' will always remain a memorable moment in our hearts--CHEERZ Mir--it's 'tini' time!!! We love you...xox Joseph (Brother), Gail (Sister-in-law),Ryan (Ry Crisp--her pet name for him) (Nephew--presently in Afghanistan 1st Lt. USMC)& of course Katie (Katester--her pet name for her)
My heart goes out to you all. You have my deepest sympathy.
I came across this page and it really is sad that she is no longer part of this world and her success will not be felt by this world. I remeber her helping me with my college admissions essay and I will never forget how she helped me with it.
Thank you for writing this blog entry. It isn't the same as reading the press release from UCLA...I miss Miriam! I didn't get to say good-bye. I didn't even realize the situation. What happened to Buster?
I worked for Miriam while I was an undergraduate at UCLA.
I didn't know about Buster, but Jim Fujii sent the following:
"Buster is with a family with other dogs in Arizona, and it's supposed to be a wonderful home. i sure hope so--that sweet doggie was so devoted to Miriam, even though she was with her for a short time. Esha said she tried taking photos of Buster and Miriam, but Buster never looked toward the camera--always looking adoringly at Miriam."
Although Miriam's passing saddens me immensely, I feel privileged to have crossed paths with her however briefly. Miriam and I arrived in Los Angeles about the same time in 1989 when she joined UCLA's History Department and I joined USC's School of International Relations. After meeting at a Japan-related event at UCLA, we got together on numerous occasions during which we talked endlessly about practically everything --from critical theory to Japanese popular culture to the war against Iraq. Miriam kindly read and critiqued my work, and she expanded my intellectual horizons. It was Miriam who encouraged me to take on the subject of historical memory and reconciliation in East Asia --something that I have done after moving to Washington DC in 1995. I miss her, but her memory will continue to inspire me.
Mike Mochizuki, George Washington University
Thanks, Mike! Those are beautiful words.
Hi, Adrienne,
The news of Miriam's demise has come as a shock. I was a classmate of hers way back in 1962-64 at Nishimachi International School. The last time I saw her was around the first Moon landing in the summer of 1969, when I visited Tokyo for a second time, and got from her my first taste of Big Brother and the Holding Company (with Janis Joplin), The Doors, and Jefferson Airplane. In 2006 I googled her name and had been intending since then to contact her. When I finally got around to it today, it was, alas, too late. She was a fantastic friend and I hope to meet her again in another world. Ventsislav Venkov (Velinov in those days). venkovvk@yahoo.com
A few months ago I heard about Prof. Silverberg and started to recall some beautiful moments I enjoyed in her presence. I did not know her well, but she always made a strong and positive impression on me during gatherings of students and faculty in East Asian studies at UCLA. During talks on East Asian studies that were given there, I was always impressed with her courage, her clear way of speaking, and her insights. It was exciting to be in the same room with her because she would spark discussion, get to the root of an issue, and make people uncomfortable sometimes in ways that were good for them, and that moved the discussion in fruitful directions. She generously helped a close friend of mine, a fellow grad student. Later when she was beginning to suffer from Parkinson's and I talked to her in person for the first time, I was surprised to see that she still had her wonderful sense of humor. She gave a talk at UCSD in 2004 on Nara Yoshitomo's work that was so interesting and so enjoyable to listen to! For me that day, she was a brilliant light in the midst of darkness. Her research and her humanistic spirit have been very inspiring to me.
It's hard to believe that over three years have passed since Miriam left us. I miss her brilliance, her laughter, and especially the way she kept us all honest, just by being who she was. Somewhat selfishly, I miss her most at those difficult moments, personal or worldly, and she is no longer there to turn to.
I just found these posts and this blog. Miriam was my first cousin on her Dad's side. Even though she grew up in Japan, and I in NY, we were pretty close. She was a year younger than me, but oh so much smarter and wiser. What I realized very early in our lives was that no matter how much she knew, and I didn't, she never ever made me feel inferior. She was always giggling, and that was infectious.
One time when she returned to NY she brought me a record album of West Side Story. It seemed all the lyrics were written in English but by a non English speaker. Someone's English interpretation from Japanese? How much fun we had with that!
I miss her in a different way than her students and professional associations do... but we can all agree... WHAT A GREAT PERSON WE HAD IN MIRIAMU!
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