SPEAKING OUT ON CENSORSHIIP
In May 1943, New Yorkers gathered together in Bryant Park to remember the tens of thousands of Nazi sympathizers who gathered on college campuses across Germany on May 10, 1933, to participate in the burning of some 25,000 books by scientists, philosophers, political theorists and poets labeled “degenerates” by the Nazi regime.
For the opening of Sheryl Oring’s installation “Writer’s Block: Bebelpatz to Bryant Park,” supporters of the written word will once again gather in Bryant Park, where eight writers — including Arthur Miller, Russell Banks and Jamaica Kincaid — will read from literature about the Nazi book-burnings and about more recent incidents of censorship and oppression.
Reflecting on today’s freedom to read and write, New York-based artist Oring created “Writer’s Block,” which comprises 18 metal cages filled with 540 prewar typewriters and is making its New York debut. Oring told the Forward she first came upon the idea for the installation after visiting the memorial for the book-burning at Bebelpatz, a square across from the University of Berlin in Germany, and after noticing many old typewriters at flea markets in Berlin. To Oring, typewriters simultaneously represent the typed orders issued by the Nazis and the free expression of ideas. The event is sponsored by the PEN American Center, National Coalition Against Censorship and American Bookseller Foundation for Free Expression.
Bryant Park, 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue; opening Sept. 30, 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m., installation through Oct. 12; free. (212-334-1660, ext. 105 or www.writers-block.org)
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
