Steve Silberman, the award-winning author and journalist whose work touches everything from autism to the Grateful Dead, has died according to statements from his family. He was 66.
The Samuel Johnson Prize-winning author’s death was announced Thursday by his sister and later confirmed by his husband, who wrote on social media, “Sorry to start your day with bad news. It’s my very sad duty to inform you all that @stevesilberman.bsky.social, my wonderful husband and best friend, passed away last night. I’ll have more info later. For now, please take a moment to remember his kindness, humor, wisdom, and love.”
To the culture at large, Silverman will be best remembered for his 2015 book, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity. The award-winning book examines the early history of autism from Silberman’s viewpoint as a member of the neurodivergent community. NeuroTribes followed Silberman’s touchstone article at Wired—for whom he wrote for two decades—”The Geek Syndrom”, which documented autism in Silicon Valley and is cited as a significant piece for the neurodivergent movement. In 2016, Silberman gave the keynote address at the United Nations for World Autism Awareness Day.
To a much smaller subset of the population, however, Silberman will be remembered for his work within the countercultural music community. Moving to San Francisco so he could live “a gay life without fear” also brought him into the ecosystem of the lingering hippie culture with bands like the Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills & Nash. His 1994 reference book Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads was a critical factual compilation during the nascent days of the internet. He became close friends with David Crosby, maintaining a decades-long friendship that lasted through the singer-songwriter’s death last year and also spawned their joint podcast, Freak Flag Flying.
“Thankfully, I was never David’s manager, but for almost 30 years, the co-founder of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was my closest older friend,” Silberman wrote in a Relix piece shortly after Crosby’s death last year. “In an unlikely twist of fate, I went from being an obsessive teenage fan—rushing out to buy every new record, collecting every unreleased rarity I could find, staying up all night in a phone booth in a blizzard after a concert because I missed the last bus home—to being the guy David would send a just-written song to after leaving a voicemail, ‘Silberman, wake up! It’s Croz. Pick up your email. I’m gonna blow your mind.’”
One thing I can’t be accused of is not appreciating @theDavidCrosby or his music while he was here. I loved that man, and his music was the sound of my soul thinking to itself. [photo 2015] pic.twitter.com/CDZnShwNTG
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) January 19, 2024
Silberman’s academic career began by studying psychology at Ohio’s Oberlin College before he got his master’s in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley where he was instructed by poet Thom Gunn. At the Buddhist-inspired Naropa University in Boulder, CO, Silberman studied with Allen Ginsberg, interviewing the legendary poet for a 1987 edition of the Whole Earth Review which resulted in Steve becoming Allen’s teaching assistant at the college.
In 1979, Silberman moved to San Francisco where he became enmeshed in the countercultural music world. He was a frequent contributor to Relix magazine, introduced Grateful Dead historian David Gans to a then-budding filmmaker named Peter Shapiro who was producing documentaries on the band’s subculture, and is featured throughout the expansive 2017 documentary Long Strange Trip.
“Steve was an early friend who played a really important role in helping me early on my journey,” Relix publisher and jam impresario Shapiro said. “He had a huge smile and a friendly touch. And I will always remember his bear hugs and love of the Grateful Dead across cultures. He was a great spirit.”
I hadn’t seen this. It is so perfectly Steve. He hated that shit.
Thanks to everyone for all of the love. I’m not going to reply or like or anything, but your messages are giving me so much joy to throw onto the pile of sadness. It helps immensely. He had a big impact on this world, for the better.
— Ward Q. Normal (@wardqnormal.bsky.social) Aug 29, 2024 at 3:30 PM
The post Steve Silberman, Acclaimed Journalist & ‘Deadhead Dictionary’ Author, Dead At 66 appeared first on L4LM.
