14 January, 2002For Immediate Release
Contact: Pam McDonnell, NYU Medical Center, 212-404-3555
Aftermath of September 11th on Creativity: Psychoanalysts Host Major Literary Figures in a Panel Presentation Responding to the Impact of Tragedy
New York, NY- The NYU Psychoanalytic Institute (NYUPI) and its affiliated society the Psychoanalytic Association of New York (PANY) with additional funding from the American Psychoanalytic Foundation are launching their new Creative Writers and Psychoanalysts Series with a panel entitled The Apocalyptic Imagination: Daydreaming in an Era of Nightmares. This first panel will take place on February 23, 2002 from 2:00 -5:00 PM. in Farkas Auditorium, NYU Medical Center, 550 First Avenue, New York City.
Best-selling writer, Robert Stone, author of Damascus Gate, and winner of the National Book award for Dog Soldiers--along with Denis Johnson (Jesus' Son, Seek), and Jim Shepard (Batting against Castro, Nosferatu)--will give fiction readings and participate in a panel discussion with psychoanalysts Shelley Orgel, M.D., of NYUPI, Jane Kite, Ph.D., of Boston, and Salman Akhtar, M.D., of Philadelphia.
Psychoanalysts understand the intense emotions of guilt, sorrow, and anxiety resulting from the trauma of September 11th and its aftermath as helping to motivate the tremendous outpourings of altruistic behavior after a disaster. The same emotions, however, can unconsciously be expressed as a fear of and guilt about the products of imagination and intelligence, resulting in a turning away from aesthetic pleasure and creativity.
"At a time when many are still feeling the numbing effects of trauma, it is important to remember that the creative imagination is something that enriches our lives, is a reservoir of meaning, and is a source of knowledge of ourselves and of the world around us. By engaging the work of these exemplary writers, we hope to restore our own creative energies and abilities, while gaining a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between trauma, creativity and mastery," says Sandra S. Leong, M.D., chair of the series Committee.
The three fiction writers on the panel have, in their writing, exemplified a mastery of apocalyptic themes and emotions, and are teachers of creative writing. The three psychoanalysts are experienced clinicians, teachers, and analytic writers. The intersecting interests of the panelists create an opportunity to engage many questions relevant to creativity, such as:
* How has trauma recent and distant impacted on the work of the participants?* What are the causes of loss of relevance, inhibition of ability to fantasize, loss of pleasure in creativity?* What is optimal distance, and how is it conceptualized differently in writing fiction vs. in the consulting room?* What are the elements of imagination?* What enables one to imagine the unimaginable?* What is a story?* What facilitates the empathic and identificatory abilities upon which psychoanalysts and writers depend?
The members of NYUPI and PANY--who have volunteered much time to the NYU Medical community and to disaster-relief programs since 9/11--consider the conference yet another kind of healing contribution-one that psychoanalysts are uniquely trained to provide.
The Apocalyptic Imagination panel will take place on February 23, 2002 in Farkas Auditorium, NYU Medical Center, 550 First Avenue, New York City, from 2:00-5:00 PM. A reception will follow. Registration is open to the public with admission priced at $35.00 ($25 for students and candidates). To register send name address, e-mail, and professional or academic affiliation (if applicable) with check made payable to the Psychoanalytic Association of New York to Marilyn Herleth, 387 Concord Avenue, Lindenhurst, NY 11757. Members of the press can receive complimentary admission, please call in advance to reserve seating.
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