What can one say in 300 words to do justice to the legendary Bob Christgau, essayist extraordinaire on topics musical, literary, cultural, philosophical, and political, about whom it is said “when he speaks people listen”? Attracted by the opportunity to be with “really smart people,” Bob came to Dartmouth at age 16 intending to be a lawyer. One freshman class with his faculty advisor and mentor, John Hurd, in the English department, set him on the path to becoming a writer instead. The wealth of cultural offerings on campus, supplemented by frequent cultural immersion in his native New York City, provided the burgeoning essayist with content and direction.

Following graduation, after a few short-lived jobs, Bob joined The Village Voice in 1974, becoming chief music critic and senior editor, an association lasting for more than three decades. Initially covering jazz, he soon migrated to rock ’n’ roll. Aided by a press room manned by hip young colleagues, he fashioned the vocation of rock and mass-culture critic, figuring it out as he went along, eventually styling himself as the dean of the profession.

What cannot fail to impress about Bob’s storied career is the sheer volume of his output (see www.robertchristgau.com), encompassing nine books, countless reviews, and essays, written in what has been described as a “concentrated, fragmented prose style featuring layered clauses, caustic wit, one-liner jokes, political digressions, and allusions ranging from common knowledge to the esoteric.” His work displays a mind-numbing encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and, as he puts it, “literary fiction, Marxist-adjacent cultural commentary, feminist debates over pornography, and even books about the past decade’s financial crisis,” featured not only in The Village Voice but also in a wide assortment of popular culture magazines. He generously credits his success to the contribution of teachers, mentors, associates, and especially his wife of 48 years, author and essayist, Carola Dibbell. Now, at the age of 80, Bob found another outlet for his prodigious mass-cultural energies in a subscription blog (https://robertchristgau.substack.com).

I regret to report the death of Douglas C. Anderson of Washington, D.C., on April 18; Charles Failmezger of New York City in February; Robert T. Osteen of Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 14; and Dennis M. Stewart of Saginaw, Michigan, on July 18.

—David L. Smith, RR4 Box 225B4, Galveston, TX 77554; (775) 870-2354; david@davidlsmith.com