Newark Public Library
Project Title
For support for a conference entitled, "The Writer’s Role in Imagining Racial and Ethnic Identity"
Date
Sep. 02, 2021
Duration
12 months
Description
Earlier this year, William J. Connell, the Joseph M. and Geraldine C. La Motta Chair in Italian Studies atSeton Hall University and 2019 Andrew Carnegie Fellow, received a tip that a previously unknown recording of a famous 1962 literary symposium held at Yeshiva University was buried in the university’s Special Collections. The event included authors Philip Roth, Ralph Ellison, and Pietro di Donato discussing whether minority writers of fiction have special obligations in depicting members of their own religious, cultural, or ethnic groups, and whether stereotypical representations should be avoided. The Yeshiva symposium is legendary, in large part because Roth attributed his success as a writer to the fierce interrogation of his work at the convening, also stating that the discussion helped him solidify his attitudes about religion and ethnicity. Connell, having contacts at each of the three authors estates, arranged for the recording to be made public for the first time. Because the issues that were memorably and eloquently discussed in 1962 hold great relevance in 2021, Newark Public Library will hold a conference where distinguished scholars examine and critique the ideas expressed at the symposium fifty-nine years ago and juxtapose them with modern thoughts on race and ethnicity. Connell will serve as moderator. With Corporation support, Newark Public Library will host a large-scale public event that advances our nation’s conversation about the role of race and identity in literature and our society at large.