The Philoctetes Center was featured in a recent article by Steven Mesler in The Huffington Post. Mesler had this to say about Philoctetes and its programs: "There is no other organization in the city that covers so much ground. This past week alone included the following events: roundtable discussions on The Inventions of Bob Dylan, Mathematics and Beauty, Poetry and Microgenesis, Naming God, Naming Infinity: Religious Mysticism and Mathematical Creativity, a performance by the Wingdale Community Singers, a documentary on Alice Neel, and a discussion on The Future of Health Care on the same day Congress passed ground breaking legislation on that subject matter. The Philoctetes Center isn't a retrograde think tank, they are explorers, they are interested in a better New York City and world going forward."

As many of you know, The Philoctetes Center experienced a drastic loss of funding at the end of 2008. The fact that we have been able to continue with a full schedule of programs is a testament to the commitment of our enthusiastic audiences and our hardworking staff. Your individual contributions have helped keep the Philoctetes Center alive. We have also been fortunate to receive grants from the Leon Levy Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Elsie Wunsch Trust, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and Bloomberg LP. In addition, we were recently notified that we will receive funding from the New York State Council on the Arts for our poetry and music events in 2010, and we are hopeful about our chances to receive funding from the NEA.

However, the reality is that even with the recognition of these important funding organizations, our prospects for survival in 2010 are precarious. Your contributions will help us to maintain our event space and our part-time staff, and to continue recording and posting event videos—an important aspect of our educational mission. Our robust programs, such as the recent Mathematics and Beauty and The Inventions of Bob Dylan roundtables, are attracting packed houses. Upcoming events include Time, Aging and Creativity, and Jane Ira Bloom's Close-Up Music. We are planning more exciting events for 2010—The Films of Joseph Cornell, Art in the New Deal Era, The Life and Work of Isaiah Berlin, The Imagination of Hamlet, to name just a few—but we quite simply cannot move forward without your support. Please take a moment to contribute at whatever level you can afford so that The Philoctetes Center can continue bringing you the unique, provocative programs you have come to expect from us. You may access our contribution page via the link below. Payments can be made by check or credit card.

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Francis Levy & Edward Nersessian
Co-Directors