Kathryne Lindberg (1951-2010)

I have been grimly awaiting the official announcement of Kathryne Lindberg's death, after she disappeared in December, 2010 , an apparent suicide. Her body was recently found and the family has released this announcement, with information on a memorial service. Kathryne's first book was Reading Pound Reading: Modernism after Nietzsche (Oxford, 1987) but her research in recent years was on African-American literature and Communism, focussing on the 1930s. She spent years researching her book, so it is my hope that her notes or drafts might somehow be rescued. Kathryne was an editorial board member of boundary 2. And married the poet Murray Jackson, whose death stayed with her till her own death. I last saw Kathryne when she came to Chicago, with my cousin Susan Bernstein, to see Emma's show at DOVA. Kathryne, like they say, did not suffer fools lightly, really not at all, and she did not suffer the foolishness in herself either I suspect. She was unrelenting in the harsh light she cast on American racism and its centrality for understanding American literature. She used her formidable wit, charm, and knowledge to undercut any argument that would ameliorate this history, our history as Americans and as American writers. 

 

Lindberg DR. Kathryne V. Age 60, June 12, 2011. Kathryne was born in San Francisco,CA on August 17th 1951, to Herbert and Kathryne Lindberg. She received her English degree from U.C. Berkeley and her Masters and PhD in 1983 rom U.C.L.A. She was an assistant professor of English at Harvard University and a tenured professor for many years in the English Dept. at Wayne State University in Detroit.  She was preceded in death by her cherished husband Dr. Murray Jackson. She is survived by her brother Clarence H. (Pattie) Lindberg; two nephews, Christopher and Gregory (Chrissy); and her grandnephew Cooper Lindberg. We will always love you, miss you deeply, and be at peace that you are free from earthly bonds. Family and friends are invited to attend services on September 9th, 2011. The first will be held at 12 noon at the Cathedral of St. Paul, 400 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48201. The second will take place that same day at 3pm in the McGregor Conference Center of Wayne State University. In lieu of flowers, her family suggests contributions to the Department of English, Wayne State University, 5057 Woodward Ave #9406, Detroit, MI 48202 or The Department of Africana Studies, Wayne State University, 5057 Woodward Ave. #11002, Detroit,MI 48202. Please share a memory of Kathryne at www.cremationmichigan.com.