In Memoriam Edward Clemmens, M.D. (1914-2003)

In the 1960s, a group of analysts, Harold Kelman, Edward Clemmens, Edward Schattner, John Meth, and Gerda Willner set out to put together all of Horney's papers on Feminine Psychology. These analysts were responsible for selecting and translating papers from the German original versions as a joint effort. Gems, such as The Flight from Womanhood, The Dread of the Woman, The Denial of the Vagina, until then completely unknown to American readers, were lovingly translated, and edited. By 1966, 15 papers were ready for publishing, incredibly positioned to join the Women's Movement, and to put Horney on the academic curriculum of most universities.

I am honoring the memory of one of those scholars, Dr. Ed Clemmens, a member of that famed editing team. Dr. Clemmens was a Training and Supervising analyst, a faculty member, and a teacher, at the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. He was an Associate Editor of The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, and the author of many articles on theory and the therapeutic process. Dr. Clemmens was also a true gentleman. I gave a tribute to honor Edward Clemmens in June 1994 on the occasion of an AIP gathering. In preparation for that event, I fondly remembered many encounters with Dr. Clemmens. I told the audience that for me, Ed Clemmens was a surprise package. I had known him ever since I was a candidate in training and presented in his Continuous Case Seminar. Or at least I thought I knew him. He seemed like a skilled analyst who had a great deal to offer clinically. He was respectful of candidates and a pleasure to present to. I soon learned that this Ed Clemmens was the tip of the iceberg. Gradually, it came out that this remarkable man had lived in four countries and was fluent in four languages. I knew that he spoke German. I then discovered that he could speak Spanish and had lived in Ecuador, a country I had at that time just visited. Then I learned that he spoke Italian and had gone to medical school in Italy, after he fled