This Bulletin is dedicated to the memory of Lew Aron, whose death on February 28 has been grieved throughout the worldwide relational community. It will take a number of symposia, conferences, and special journal issues to begin to do justice to Lew’s vast influence on contemporary psychoanalysis. What follows herein are but a few tributes and remembrances.
For many colleagues, the untimely death of such a formative figure echoes the tragic loss of Stephen Mitchell, Lew’s good friend, who died in 2000 at just 54. For those who have come to the field more recently, Lew’s passing may resonate with and in some sense even compound the recent losses of two other shining lights of our community: Muriel Dimen, in 2016, and Jeremy Safran, just last year.
Anyone who read Lew’s work, heard him present, or who served, studied, corresponded or otherwise interacted with him, was likely to recognize that he was one of a kind. Scholar, teacher, clinician, leader, and supporter of so many others’ efforts, he was admired as an intellect and a mensch of the highest order, towering yet approachable.
Lew was also a cornerstone of IARPP from the start, serving as its first president (2001-2003). In connection with his role in forming our organization, our Vice Presidents Margaret Mitchell Black and Hazel Ipp, both of whom worked closely with Lew in establishing IARPP, offer their reflections. Tributes come as well from his close friend and colleague, Spyros Orfanos, and from a member of one of Lew’s long-time study groups, Orna Guralnik.
I’d like to share one anecdote myself.
I was struck by Lew’s elan when I lunched with him during a half-day workshop he and Galit led a few years ago. The rest of us ordered coffee, juice or soda with our meals, but Lew had the audacity to luxuriate in a midday cocktail. As organizer of the workshop, I would have looked askance and perhaps worried about any other presenter wanting to have a drink with two hours of dense clinical discussion still ahead of him.
But this was Lew – a man so highly skilled in making the multitasking of complex undertakings look effortless, that I felt secure trusting his ability to handle his vodka alongside his Searles. Need I add that the workshop was a wonder: he spoke extemporaneously without notes, always spinning compelling tales of rich historical context, impeccable argumentation, and provocative theory-making as naturally as if he were in spontaneous conversation with just you.
The Colloquium report features an interview with Robert Grossmark (USA), whose development of what he calls “unobtrusive” relational work is the subject of our forthcoming community-wide webinar. This Bulletin edition also features reports from a number of IARPP committees and from chapters around the globe.
Most everyone is focused at this time on readying for the annual conference, coming up in June in Tel Aviv. We look forward to seeing you there.
Matt Aibel, LCSW (USA)
Email Matt Aibel
Submissions:
We invite all IARPP members to submit announcement of their publications and presentations. Our next deadline for submissions to the IARPP Bookshelf is May 12th. Please include the following materials with your submission:
- Title of your recent or upcoming publication or presentation
(Note: We do not publish news of presentations given at the IARPP Annual Conference) - Brief description of its content (such as an abstract)
- Link to a publisher (if applicable) so that members might access or purchase a copy
- Book cover photo or artwork (if applicable)
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Please send submissions to matt.aibel[at]gmail.com.
