CENTRO PRIMO LEVI NEW YORK
Anchored in Primo Levi’s Primo Levi’s reflection on power, justice, and the impact of science and technology on the planet and human relations, for nearly 30 years, Centro Primo Levi has been home to scholars, writers, scientists, and artists seeking to develop and discuss their work in different areas of interest: (1) Primo Levi’s work and its resonance in different societies and times; (2) Italian Fascism, its expansion to Europe and beyond, and the persecution of Jews in Italy; (3) History and historiography through the eyes of the Italian peninsula’s Jewish minorities; (4) Languages, poetry, text, and translation.
CPL’s research projects are partly chronicled in the online zine Printed Matter, the imprint CPL Editions, CPL Minidocs, and the video library. Work-in-progress is periodically discussed at partner venues (CUNY, NYU, NYPL) and venues that CPL inhabited for a limited time: the historic Vanni bookstore and Vol de Nuit in the West Village. Most recently, CPL has spearheaded the Bookhouse in the American Sephardi Federation’s Chelsea space.
The Center collaborates with libraries and archives, facilitates the placement and study of private document collections, and promotes the appreciation of historical books in its publications and public talks. We offer internships and fellowships, welcoming a broad range of proposals. Fellows are provided with a workspace, access to libraries and archives, and the possibility to present their work-in-progress.
The recent establishment of Bookhouse gave new life to the collaboration with the American Sephardi Federation and Dan Wyman, a book dealer concentrating on 18th-20th century Hebraica and Jewish American press, who joined the effort to develop a communal space dedicated to books. Bookhouse includes a seminar space, the Stella Levi Diwan Room, and a bookstore with an antiquarian and an academic section. Bookhouse hosts workshops, publishing work, fellows’ presentations, and study sessions every week. Bookhouse offers a growing selection of antique, classic and new books related to CPL’s fields of interest.
PROJECTS
Primo Levi on Labor and the Environment.
Starting this year, CPL’s ongoing work on Primo Levi will focus on an area of his work that was very prominent in his lifetime but has attracted little attention among scholars: the idea of labor to which Levi dedicated a book, The Wrench, and many interviews and essays; and the human impact on nature and the environment.
The Hebrew Book Workshop.
Having worked at many exhibitions, publications, and studies with Jewish libraries and archives, CPL began to make available its resources to develop the blueprint for an exhibition of the History of the Hebrew Book. We invite scholars, writers, book collectors, dealers, playwrights, and filmmakers to discuss stories of Hebrew books and their relation with book histories of different languages. The workshop will originate a series of short-film on view at Bookhouse.
Erna Finci Viterbi Chazanut Project.
The Italian peninsula has been a cultural crossroad of many cultures. Jewish minorities have inhabited and transited through it for twenty-two centuries and made it an important laboratory of language, poetry, and music. The liturgical tradition offers a privileged viewpoint to explore the past of spoken and written language. CPL’s programs and publications on the subject have led to the collaboration with the Leo Levi Center and the creation of the Thesaurus of Italian Jewish Music.
Ottoman History Workshop
After many years of supporting research and publications on Italian Fascism, its expansion, and post-war continuities, the Center’s focus moved to the pre-World War I period and the decline and end of the Ottoman Empire. Within this frame, CPL invites scholars from different countries to enter conversations on events and historiographical perspectives.
Board of directors
- Andrew Viterbi, President
- Jeffrey Keil, President
- Stella Levi
- Erna Viterbi z’l
- Felice Ghilardi
- Sarah Wolf Hallac
- Isabelle Levy
- Alessandro Di Rocco
- Alan Viterbi
- Natalia Indrimi
Staff and Collaborator
- Natalia Indrimi, Executive director
- Alessandro Cassin, Deputy director,
- Director of publishing
- Sofia Quaglia, Production
- Yuval Jonas, Publicity
- Jahreen Hussain, Outreach
- Design by Jonathan Wajskol
- Mini-docs and videos by Awen-Films, NY
Address and contact
- Centro Primo Levi
- 15 West 16th Street, 6th floor
New York, NY 10011
- Telephone: + 1-917-606-8202
- Email: in**@*************er.org