While in exile during the Second World War, Carlo Levi, the famous painter, writer, and antifascist Italian from a Jewish family wrote the canonical essay “Of Fear and Freedom,” which was later published by Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux and in the intervening years went out of print. The essay, deeply embedded in the moment in history in which it was written, reflects on the moral and spiritual decline of man which results in a loss of creativity, identity, and the political self.

Now, we’ve has reissued this classical work, along with the first English translation of Levi’s essay, “Fear of Painting”, and never before seen pieces of Levi’s artwork. With an introduction by Stanislao G. Pugliese that discusses the relevance of Levi’s work in contemporary times, the new edition titled, Fear of Freedom: With the Essay “Fear of Painting” is a must-have work. (You can also read an excerpt from the book.)

Come join us for a launch party on April 21st at 5:30 pm at Columbia University’s Italian Academy celebrating the new edition of this great work. The event is free and open to the public, please rsvp to wb2149@columbia.edu. Editor Stanislao G. Pugliese will launch the book with a round-table discussion featuring Peter Caravetta (Stony Brook) and Alexander Stille (Columbia).