New York, July 8, 2002 -- The art of Japanese Illustrated books, vaudeville performer Bert Williams, and photographer Berenice Abbott are just a few of the topics that will be examined by the fifteen fellows appointed to The New York Public Library's Center for Scholars and Writers, for the academic year 2002-2003. The names of the fourth class of fellows were announced today by Library President Paul LeClerc and Peter Gay, the Center's Director and Sterling Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University.

The group will take up residence on September 9 in the Center's quarters on the second floor of the landmark Humanities and Social Sciences Library, at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. The Center for Scholars and Writers offers a nine-month fellowship that allows researchers and creative writers to work at the Library on projects involving use of its collections. Fellows receive a stipend and office space, and are encouraged to share ideas. The Center has become known as a lively hub of intellectual discourse, particularly through its public lecture series presented by fellows in the fall and spring. In addition, writings by fellows routinely appear in local and national publications during their tenure. 

The year 2002-2003 appointees include three Director's Fellows, named by Professor Gay: Fraziska Kirchner, an art historian and author from Berlin, Germany; Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, New York, N. Y.; and Julia Van Haaften, Assistant Director of the Digital Library Program, The New York Public Library.

The other twelve fellows were chosen by a distinguished selection committee. A broad spectrum of interests and projects was reflected in the pool consisting of 273 applicants from 23 countries, out of 1300 requests for information that came into the Center. The twelve fellows selected are: Donald Antrim, novelist, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Thomas Bender, University Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History at New York University, New York, N.Y.; Emily Braun, Professor of Art History at Hunter College, New York, N. Y.; Tom Buk-Swienty, journalist and United States Bureau Chief for the Danish weekly Weekendavisen Beringske, currently living in Huntington, N. Y.; Elisheva Carlebach, Professor of History, Queens College, CUNY, from Brooklyn, N.Y.; Caleb Crain, freelance writer and former reporter for Lingua Franca, from Brooklyn, N. Y.; Paul Freedman, Professor of History, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.; Bei Ling Huang, poet, essayist, and founder of the exile literary journal Tendency, Boston, Mass.; Roger Keyes, currently an Associate in Research at the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University, Visiting Professor in the History of Art at Brown University, and Director of the Center for the Study of Japanese Prints, Cranston, R. I.; Caryl Phillips, novelist, New York, N. Y.; Philip Steinberg, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.; Jeremy Treglown, former Editor of the (London) Times Literary Supplement and Professor of English at the University of Warwick, England.

More background on the 15 Fellows and list of their topics.

Four members of this year's class, Thomas Bender, Emily Braun, Roger Keyes, and Caryl Phillips have been designated Mel and Lois Tukman Fellows, in recognition of Mr. and Mrs. Tukman's gift to the Scholars and Writers Center. In addition, Paul Freedman is jointly sponsored by The New York Public Library and the American Council of Learned Societies.

"At the outset of this experiment three years ago, the dream of our leadership donors, Dorothy and Lewis Cullman, was to make the Library at Fifth Avenue a focal point for writers and thinkers in New York City by creating a forum for scholarly discourse," said Library President Paul LeClerc.  "As we welcome our fourth class of fellows, under the leadership of Peter Gay, the Sue Ann and John Weinberg Director, we can honestly say that the dream has become a spectacular reality, and that bringing scholars into close daily contact with the Library's collections, and giving them the time and support to concentrate on their projects has resulted in a remarkable creative output each year." 

"It is rare to find one's high expectations exceeded, as they have been with the Center, but it has become my privilege to oversee a program that makes a significant contribution to the intellectual life of this City and beyond," said Peter Gay.  "Working on their own, with one another, and with the growing audiences that have come to look forward to their lectures, each year's fellows have added immeasurably to the life of the  Library, fulfilling the Center's mission in ways we never dreamed possible." 

"My research over the past year has concerned the stigmatization of American secularism," says Susan Jacoby, fellow in the Center's departing 2001-2002 class.  "The range of the Library's holdings has given me a new appreciation of the courage and vision of past generations of New York librarians, who collected without regard for the received religious and political opinion of the time.  Every day here has offered unexpected delights, not only within the collections but in the opportunity to interact with other scholars and the public."  

The Center for Scholars and Writers was made possible by a generous endowment by Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman in honor of Brooke Russell Astor, with major support provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Estate of Charles J. Liebman, Sue Ann and John Weinberg, The Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, William W. Karatz, and additional gifts from Mel and Lois Tukman and Sandra Payson.

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Contact:           Herb Scher or Caroline Oyama
                        212-704-8600

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