PRIMO LEVI FORUM 2011 

 

Primo Levi is one of the best-known 20th century Italian writers, with over twelve million copies of his works sold in 24 languages. His unique blend of humanistic vision and scientific thought has enabled his work to reach an extraordinarily diverse cross-section of lay and specialized audiences. Mostly know for his memoirs of his experience in Auschwitz, Primo Levi has also been active in public debates and expressed himself on fundamental topics ranging from the atomic bomb to the ethical responsibility of scientists. The 2011 program, consisting of a staged reading and a round table, reveals a fullness of vision and the myriad of nuances that continue to make Levi's ideas relevant to new generation and people of all cultures.      

 

NOV 7 | THE MARK OF THE CHEMIST

Museum of Jewish Heritage | 36 Battery Park Place, NYC 

November 7 at 7 pm | Admission: $ 20, $15 MJH, CPL members 

Box office: 646.437.4202 

 

Theatrical reading of Primo Levi's scientific text.  

Featuring John Turturro and Joan Acocella. Soundscape by composer and virtuoso Marco Cappelli. Text selection by Domenico Scarpa. Co-presented with Centro Internazionale di Studi Primo Levi and Teatro Stabile, Turin. English premiere. 

 

NOV 8 | SCIENCE & DYSTOPIA 

NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimó. 24 West 12th Street 

November 8 at 5 pm to 8 pm | Admission free, seating is limited 

 

Readings and dialogues on Primo Levi's science fiction.  

Film Screening: Sleeping Beauty in the Fridge, RAI, 1979, based on Primo Levi's short story. Co-directed by the writer for the Italian television. Italian w/English subtitles (16 min.) 

 

Paola Mieli (psychoanalyst, Après-Coup,New York, Paris), Gérard Haddad (psychoanalyst, Paris. Author of "Lumière des astres éteints", Grasset 2011), Daniela Schiller (neuroscientist, Mount Sinai, New York)  

 

NOV 13

PRIMO LEVI & 20th CENTURY JEWISH WRITERS IN ITALY

JCC San Diego Jewish Book Fair - Yom Limmud  


Rabbi Philip Graubart (Congregation Beth El, La Jolla) and Natalia Indrimi (Centro Primo Levi, New York) will discuss Primo Levi's science fiction stories and Levi's place among 20th century Italian Jewish writers. The event will take place at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair, held at the San Diego Jewish Community Center, CA. Selections of Levi's science fiction short stories were published in English as The Tranquil Star, WW. Norton 2007 and The Sixth Day and Other Tales, Simon & Schuster 1990. In conjunction with this program CPL is expanding its book resource for English-speaking audiences, book clubs, fairs and libraries.
THANKS

The Primo Levi Forum is made possible through the generous support of the Cahnman Foundation, the Viterbi Family Foundation and Dr. Claude Ghez who established the opening night performance in memory of Nella and Giuseppe Treves.
The new logo of CPL  is designed by Jonathan Wajskol.
THE AUSCHWITZ EXPERIMENT

Massimo Bucciantini (University of Siena)  

Auschwitz Experiment, Einaudi, 2011 

 

First of all, let us make some sense of the title, taking a cue from the words of Primo Levi: "Thousands of individuals, differing in age, condition, origin, language, culture and customs, are enclosed within barbed wire: there they live a regular, controlled life which is identical for all and inadequate to all needs." This is the beginning of one of the most celebrated passages of If This is a Man, a genuine description of a mental experiment where every term has been chosen with a maximum of care and precision, exactly like the procedures in a scientific context. As if this were not enough, this passage is preceded by a word of warning that underlines the importance of the experiment and strengthens the conciseness and the terminological rigor all the more: "We would also like to consider that the Lager was pre-eminently a gigantic biological and social experiment" (p. 93). Read 


PRIMO LEVI ANNUAL LECTURE IN TURIN 

 

Stefano Bartezzaghi, essayist, journalist and Professor of Semiotics of the Enigma at the Free University of Languages and Communication in Milan, will discuss Levi's language and his interest in linguistics.  

The event will take place on October 26th at the School of Natural Sciences, Physics, and Mathematics of the University of Turin. Read 

   

 

 

www.primolevicenter.org 

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