The Legacy of Rachel
Bespaloff: Teacher and Philosopher
 In
her essays on philosophy, literature, and art, Rachel Bespaloff returns again
and again
to the question of beauty
in the confusion of the world. "If the poet thinks he can
elude history by means of a short history, he becomes superficial.
Yet, the duality of this point of departure must lead him
to heights where, beyond antagonisms, the tragic poem finds
the balance and calm of beauty" ("The World of the Man
Condemned to Death," p. 105). This panel explores Bespaloff's
own struggle to find that "balance and calm of beauty." As
a scholar and teacher at Mount Holyoke College, she helped
others find their way in a world devoid of the "beautiful
silences" lost in the din of war.
As the final session
of the Pontigny symposium, a round table discussion on the legacy
of Professor Bespaloff included Naomi Levinson ('48), Renee Cary
('48), Alyssa Danigelis ('01), Barbara Amster ('50) and Olivier
Salazar-Ferrer, University of Glasgow, Karen Remmler (Codirector,
The Weissman
Center and German Studies, Mount Holyoke College) moderated
the session.
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