CHILDREN ON THE BORDER by Phyllis Beren
As I thought about the horror of separating young children from their families at the U.S. border, what came to mind was the London bombings during World War II…
CHUNHYANG: #METOO IN THE PENTATONIC SCALE by Ittai Shapira and Laureen Park
A young woman from Namwon known for her virtue captured the unwanted attention of the newly installed magistrate who was arrogant, cruel, and narcissistic…
ZOMBIES OF MY CITY by Juan Mariño
Mariño’s work evokes the privation and moans of those who suffer a deep crisis similar to the post-war artistic expressions…
NOTES ON BECOMING AN ACTIVIST by Ann Kaplan
On October 14, 2017, I moderated an event called “Duty to Warn” in New York City. The event was one of several held nationally on that day. The topic was on the psychological fitness of Donald Trump to hold the office of president of the United States. The proximate reason…
SCULPTING GRIEF by Natalie Korytnyk Forrester
I wish I knew exactly what drew me in. I do recall what I brought: a bullet and my late husband’s dried wedding boutonniere. Melissa Ichiuji, the workshop teacher, was afraid the bullet could explode easily. I reassured her it wouldn’t. I just never imagined something solid could explode without impact.
DUTY TO SPEAK by Betty Teng
The folks in the images appearing with this essay hold the traumas of racism, immigration, natural disaster and genocide. I show these faces because they reflect experiences of trauma so many of us Americans contain, directly or intergenerationally. I point to these images also to reflect on the ongoing fact that Donald Trump and his supporters’ aggressive words, policies and actions
against these already vulnerable people — against what is vulnerable in us all — has been traumatizing or re traumatizing for far too many.
THE BRAND by Jeri Isaacson
The day in April that Ivanka Trump appeared on the dais with Angela Merkel at the Women’s Summit in Berlin, I was in my office. I was listening to a vibrant and astute young woman in her twenties as she confessed, a little sheepishly, that her new shirt had “trendy” sleeves…
UNDERSTANDING, CHARLOTTESVILLE by Jared Russell
For the previous issue of ROOM, I contributed a piece that argued against the idealization of tolerance, diversity and understanding that I see so many in the psychoanalytic community currently engaged in. I’m aware that some readers…
UNDERSTANDING, DEMOCRACY by Jared Russell
I try to rise up each time the pits of Trump fears and anger draw me down. Many people speak of the tangle of old fears…
WHERE DO THEY KEEP THE WHITE PEOPLE? by Jane Lazarre
I try to rise up each time the pits of Trump fears and anger draw me down. Many people speak of the tangle of old fears…