History as Memory: Conversation with Sergio Parussa  by Alessandro Cassin

Writing as Freedom, Writing as Testimony, Syracuse University Press, 2008, by Sergio Parussa is a highly personal study of four major Italian Jewish writers: Umberto Saba, Natalia Ginzburg, Giorgio Bassani, and Primo Levi. The book examines in detail the different ways in which each author's work responds to Judaism and the notion of Jewish identity.

Parussa invites the reader to consider the writer as a witness who salvages the past from silence and oblivion, defining memory as essential for our relationship to both present and future.

Though an academic work with a strong theoretical framework, Parussa's book is written with great clarity and passion. This is a highly successful attempt to appeal to a wider non-specialized audience. The book is situated in the fertile territory between cultural history and literary criticism. Continue.

This interview opens a series of articles dedicated to the topic of memory, which will be published on the CPL website during the months of January and February.

Programs in January

January 20 - February 18 | Giorno della Memoria

Centro Primo Levi and the Consulate General of Italy in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute, NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Marim�, the Italian Academy at Columbia University, the John Calandra Italian American Institute, The JCC of Manhattan, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and I-Italy present a series of programs and initiatives dedicated to the debate on memory, history, and representation. Visit the CPL website for programs, dates, and locations.

CPL recommends:
January 10 | 11 am Center for Jewish History
Imagination and Catastrophe
: Art and the Aftermath of Genocide. Filmmakers, writers, and musicians to discuss the complexity of creating art that deals with genocide and its aftermath. Atom Egoyan, Peter Balakian, Emily Duncan-Brown, Donna-Lee Friez, Marcie Hershman, Laura Leon, Clifton Spargo.
Italia Judaica | Jubilee Conference

The conference of Italia Judaica opened yesterday, Sunday, January 3 at the University of Tel Aviv and will continue until January 5th. View program.
New Homepage links to the Italian Jewish World

The new homepage of Centro Primo Levi links to projects and organizations that define Italian Jewish studies and culture in Italy, Israel, and the Americas. The weekly and monthly features of CPL include: Printed Matter by Alessandro Cassin, The Centaur by Franco Baldasso, Books, and Academia.

Future updates will include the activities and publications of the Centro Internazionale di Studi Primo Levi in Turin.