Detroit-based poet David Blair has passed away

With all the tradgedy in Norway, is David Blair’s death really newsworthy?

I find your comment extremely offensive, Ms. Pacman’s Lover. This isn’t gratuitous voyeurism. This is a personal friend who has died. You should be ashamed.

For the record, this is someone whom Mark and I went to high school with. I knew him in grade school as well, he was a year older.

i will never be able to forgive him over his plagiarism scandal at the new york times.

Let this be a reminder to everyone to reach out and reconnect with people who they love, admire and respect, and not to put off until tomorrow what can be done today. Hopefully David’s death, and the way people are responding to online and in the real flesh and blood world, also illustrates just how much of an impact that one good-hearted man can have in this crazy world of ours. Seeing all of these people come forward and sharing their memories of David is making me reconsider how I interact with others and what I contribute toward making the world a better place.

David was truly a rare talent and an amazing human being. I truly encourage people to watch his videos and hear his words. He will be missed by everyone who knew him. One has to wonder if not having health insurance kept David from seeking medical assistance when he started feeling sick. My understanding is that he went to a hotel to cool down, as his place did not have air. Tragic,tragic loss….

If this really comes down to David not having health insurance, I’m going to take it out on our elected officials in a BIG FUCKING WAY. It’s bad enough if it was a sudden ailment that there was no planning for. It’s something different altogether of if he knew that he was ill and had nowhere to go.

A new website and a David Blair Memorial Fund have been established.

http://dblair.org/

The Metro Times has an article about his memorial service in Detroit, which includes photos.

Last Sunday, at the corner of Cass Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Detroit, musicians, poets, artists, politicos and friends by the hundreds convened under the very hot sun, to mourn their recently departed compadre David Blair — or, more often, just Blair. They carried instruments of all sorts: tambourines, kazoos, various hand drums, guitars, one accordion. A New Orleans-style brass section was on hand and helped dampen the weeping, which was contagious. It had been a week to the day since we’d learned that Blair, 43 (though you’d never guess his age), had died.

On Saturday, July 23, Blair’s body was discovered by a maid at the Corktown Inn, where he’d often go for the A/C during summer’s hottest days. Detroit was under an advisory, with a heat index of 98 degrees, and Blair had mentioned to more than one friend the day before that he hadn’t been feeling well. A medical examiner’s report is pending.

A week and a day later, some of those dearest to Blair held up a banner that read “Detroit Loves Blair.” See, the social activist, poet and singer-songwriter David Blair was, in his words, “Made in Detroit,” even if he was born in New Jersey. He loved this city and that love was reciprocated. They had claimed each other more than a decade ago.

When news of his passing hit the Internet, Blair’s Facebook page became a moving, real-time memorial. A blog written by Brett Callwood posted on MT’s website quickly became one of the most viewed articles in our site’s history. Then on Sunday, an incredibly diverse array of Detroiters collected to march behind the banner: black, white, Hispanic, Asian, straight, gay, transgendered, whole families and lone mourners.

http://metrotimes.com/news/born-in-jersey-made-in-detroit-1.1183490