In order for the wheel to turn, for life to be lived, impurities are needed, and the impurities of impurities: in the soil, too, as is known, if it is to be fertile. Dissension, diversity, the grain of salt and mustard are needed…

Primo Levi, The Periodic Table, 1975

CENTRO PRIMO LEVI NEW YORK

Anchored in Primo Levi’s reflection on history, power, justice, and the impact of science and technology on the planet and human relations, Centro Primo Levi has for nearly three decades been home to scholars, writers, scientists, and artists seeking to develop and discuss their research in these fields: Primo Levi’s work and its resonance across societies and times; Italian Fascism, its expansion to Europe and beyond, and the persecution of Jews in Italy; History and historiography through the eyes of the Italian peninsula’s Jewish minorities; Languages, poetry, text, and translation.

CPL’s research and public activities are chronicled in the online zine Printed Matter, the publishing imprint CPL Editions, the web documentary series CPL Minidocs, and the institution’s Video library. Works in progress are periodically presented at partner venues such as CUNY, NYU, and NYPL, as well as at venues that CPL has temporarily inhabited, including the historic Vanni bookstore and Vol de Nuit in the West Village.

Two years ago, CPL launched Bookhouse in the American Sephardi Federation’s Chelsea space which has welcomed Dan Wyman, renowned book dealer who specializes in 18th–20th 20th-century Hebraica, the Jewish Book Arts Collective, the Music Room, the Carpets and Textile Workshop, and the Ottoman History Bookstore.

At the heart of Bookhouse, Stella Levi Diwan Room symbolizes the place of poetry and music allow people of all languages to be together. The Hebrew Book ShowBox is a crossover between a Sicilian puppet theater, an aron hakodesh, a storefront, and a television. Crafted in precious wood by Jeffrey Keil, it showcases stories of books across centuries and lands, produced by scholars and students who work at the intersection of technology and traditional arts. 

Bookhouse offers an internship program in collaboration with CCNY and NYU. Each season we also welcome fellows who are provided with a stipend,  workspace, access to libraries and archives, and  opportunities to present their work in progress.

PROJECTS

Primo Levi on Labor and the Environment. Beginning this year, CPL’s ongoing work on Primo Levi will focus on an aspect of his legacy that was prominent during his lifetime but has received relatively little scholarly attention: his reflections on labor, explored most fully in his book The Wrench, and on the human impact on nature and the environment.

The Hebrew Book Workshop. Drawing on its longstanding collaborations with Jewish libraries and archives across exhibitions, publications, and research projects, CPL has begun making its resources available to develop the blueprint for an exhibition on the history of the Hebrew book.  We invite scholars, writers, collectors, dealers, playwrights, and filmmakers to explore and discuss stories of Hebrew books and their connections to the book histories of other languages. This workshop will lead to a series of short films to be screened at Bookhouse.

Erna Finci Viterbi Chazanut Project. The Italian peninsula has been a cultural crossroads 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 history of spoken and written language. CPL’s programs and publications in this area have led to a collaboration with the Leo Levi Center and the creation of the Thesaurus of Italian Jewish Music.

Jews in the Italian Peninsula and the Ottoman Empire. After many years of supporting research and publications on Italian Fascism, its expansion, and its post-war continuities, the Center has shifted its focus to the period preceding World War I and the decline and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. This development stemmed from several projects dedicated to the Jewish communities under Italian colonial rule or occupation (the Island of Rhodes and the Dodecannese, Libya, Ethiopia, Yugoslavia), as well as communities for which Italian was one of several spoken languages (Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey). Within this frame, CPL invites scholars from around the world to engage in dialogue on key 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
  • Current program and publishing
  • assistants: Faiz Azfar, Naila Hassan,
  • Quinn Kinsella, Genesis Espinal
  • 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

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