Yiddish Book Center Virtual Talk
Hi Everyone. I am not posting here on WordPress so much as I mostly am doing instagram (@willardsuitcases) and twitter (@willardsuitcase).
I did want to mention that tomorrow evening, the 2nd of July, I’ll be a part of a Zoom presentation sponsored by the Yiddish Book Center on my new book “What Remains, The Suitcases of Charles F. at the Willard State Hospital”. The book is a collaboration with Ilan Stavans and was officially released today. You can buy it here on Amazon or here at the SUNY Press website.
The talk is open to the public and reservations are needed. Go here to register. If you miss it tomorrow, it will be archived on the Yiddish Book Center website.
Lots of interesting things still going on with the suitcases. I will try to update here more often. Please check out the instagram site as I am posting almost daily there.
Wishing you all good health in these harrowing times. Thanks for following. Jon
Willard Suitcases / Charles F. Grave / Ithaca
I have known for a long time now that Charles F. was buried in Ithaca.
The photo of his grave is the last image that I need for the book Ilan Stavans and I are doing for SUNY Press.
Ilan’s essay is beyond amazing, and I am really happy with the section of the book that has the two of us talking about our feelings about Charles and to the contents of his suitcase. / Searching online I was able to find the location of his grave, but I had no map of the cemetery by which to determine the exact location. This morning I went to the Ithaca Town Hall where a very nice and helpful person gave me the information that I needed.
There are two sections of the cemetery that are reserved for the burial of Jewish folks. When I saw these graves I knew I was getting close.
Charles is buried at the most Southeastern corner of the cemetery.
The fact that (by New York State law) I have to obscure the surnames of the patients is really pissing me off these days. Charles died in 1950 and I think it continues to stigmatize patients to deny who they were. I hear so regularly from family members seeking information about relatives who lived at Willard, and I feel terrible that I can’t help out. New York State law supercedes Federal HIPAA laws about what can be revealed to families and other interested parties. This can only be changed through the legislature, and I am really interested in finding a legislator in Albany to introduce a bill to bring New York State in line with Federal law (the Feds put the cap at 50 years after death, and for New York State the cap is forever). To cover myself here I put these leaves over his name but IT JUST FEELS SO WRONG.
Here’s a view from another angle. Much more pleasing that the previous one showing the buildings in the background.
Peter Carroll came along to shoot some B-Roll as I worked today. We are slowly moving ahead with the documentary on the project. It’s still very early stages, but we are hoping to put up a Kickstarter appeal sometime in the late Summer in order to be able to produce a short piece which we can then preview to funders.
Thanks for following along everyone. I am posting almost daily to the @willardsuitcases Instagram account, so if you haven’t checked it out, please do.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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