Growing Room

It feels impossible to begin this introduction to Room 9.17 without mentioning the attack in Charlottesville even though, by the time you read this, that horrific August weekend will likely be occluded by whatever will have happened next. ROOM is not a blog. It is not a tweet. It is not a newsletter at one with the news. ROOM is a re-occurring place of reflection that, like the psychoanalytic space upon which it is modeled, seems to be developing a life and process singularly its own.

Room 2.17 a ‘Sketchbook for Analytic Action’ was published during the first month of Trump's presidency in response to the recent US election. ROOM's first contributors expressed the kind of anger, grief, confusion and uncertainty that recalled for many of us the shock of 9/11. IPTAR's newsletter was conceived as a way to help ourselves and our analytic community find our shaken bearings. Proof that the local can have unforeseen reach, it resonated across state lines and four continents.

The essays, poetry, music and art in Room 5.17 broadened our ROOM's scope geographically and added a new level of complexity. Two authors had become engaged in a highly articulated point/counterpoint conversation. Almost all the contributions were now grappling with the idea that, in Montaigne's words, “There is as much difference between ourselves and others as there is between ourselves and us.” If the first issue of ROOM was a cry of anguish and a call for help, the second issue broached the possibility of entering expressively into areas which were previously un-seeable or un-sayable.

In response to the second issue, a ROOM Roundtable was organized to be an “in the room” opportunity for authors and readers to discuss the complex and provocative ideas being raised in real time. The facilitators, IPTAR's Rick Grose and Janet Fisher, are committed to continuing this venue following each ROOM. A summary of the first Roundtable can be found in the Dispatch section.

ROOM 9.17 raises the bar by being our most