Paul E. Stepansky, Ph.D.

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On November 18, 2006, authors and editors from various walks of professional life gathered at Arté Café in New York City to celebrate Paul Stepansky's 23-year career as Managing Director of The Analytic Press. Joined by Paul’s family, they paid tribute to their editor, publisher, colleague, and friend.

A Tribute to Paul Stepansky

“Adrienne and I address you this evening as authors and editors whose work has been supported, enhanced, and refined by The Analytic Press and by Paul, its founder and visionary leader. We also speak as editors of the Relational Perspectives Book Series, founded by Stephen Mitchell, and so we speak in this regard for Steve and for all the ways Paul put the resources of TAP, as well as his personal expertise, energy, and enthusiasm, at Steve's disposal and in the service of the burgeoning relational community of clinicians, psychologists, and psychoanalysts. The Relational Perspectives Book Series has at present over 30 volumes and continues to thrive.

“To have Paul as one's publisher is to have a publisher with hands, eyes, mind, and heart on all the details of production. But more dauntingly and importantly perhaps, it is to have another discerning eye on the work itself, a demanding voice for clarity, literary values, aesthetics, and communication. Paul's breadth of knowledge, his interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary passions, his deep roots in psychoanalytic history are in every book he has done, and have left their trace on the working attitudes and standards of every author he has helped. Our hope, Paul, is that this legacy and all the work we are celebrating here tonight gives you pride and pleasure. To be a champion of books, of psychoanalysis, of psychoanalytic writing and of the psychoanalytic legacy is truly marvelous, truly admirable.”

Adrienne Harris, Ph.D. and Lewis Aron, Ph.D., Series Editors, Relational Perspectives Book Series, published by The Analytic Press

“I'm a very grateful one-book man, because I would have been a no-book man without Paul. Paul was the blessing one has no right to expect in life: friend, scholar, encourager, and publisher, allowing me, moreover, to be part of his uniquely important publishing mission that rescued psychoanalytic literature at a critical juncture and left a special stamp on psychoanalytic history. I should add that Paul also enriched the Cornell History of Psychiatry Institute with his own scholarship, and by introducing us to many Freud scholars who gave us an edge in research. I join the rest of his wide, affectionate, and indebted spiritual family in wishing him his turn, at last, to indulge his thinking as he has indulged ours.”

Lawrence Friedman, M.D., author, The Anatomy of Psychotherapy (1988)

“There is little in life that is as important as encouraging and facilitating peoples' creativity and productivity, and you built the framework that made it possible for me and many other people to grow and develop as analysts and as writers. For that, I am forever grateful. Your work at The Analytic Press made it possible for psychoanalysis, too, to grow and develop. The creative force that you nurtured has benefited many of us in our careers; more importantly, this movement has sponsored productive, transformative, analyses for countless patients.”

Neil Altman, Ph.D., author, The Analyst in the Inner City (1995)

“When I think back on my years with TAP, what stays in my mind (and in my heart) are the people I worked with — and you are first among them. Having come to know you personally during the time my second book was being produced has been a gift that I never could have foreseen. I feel so, so, fortunate. You are one hell of a guy, Paul, and that's not even taking into account how incredible you are at what you do as a professional. You have given more to me than I think you will ever know, and I hope you recognize how many people feel the same way.”

Philip Bromberg, Ph.D., author, Standing in the Spaces (1998) and Awakening the Dreamer (2006)

“One definition of the word ‘muse’ is, ‘The spirit or power regarded as inspiring and watching over poets, musicians, and artists; a source of inspiration.’ I could not have written my book without Paul's inspiration. I will tell a brief story that illustrates his way of watching over me. As is probably true for many novices, I found one chapter of my book too close to my heart to be able to edit on my own. With the feeling of sending off my first born, I held my breath and mailed it to Paul. I don't know how he did this, given that we were still using snail mail, but within the week I got back line by line suggestions. Paul had done much more than contribute to my editing process. His interest and willingness to expend this effort convinced me that I had something worth saying. Along with many other generosities, this earns Paul his place as my muse, as well as my everlasting gratitude.”

Sandra Buechler, Ph.D., author, Clinical Values (2004)

“Paul Stepansky is a rarity in publishing. He knows the meaning and value of the content of what we authors send him — in fact he often helps us greatly with his sage advice. He knows what it takes to write a book — he himself is an author. Above all he knows quality and, especially significant, he knows the difference between quality and going for the bottom line. Impressive names might sell books, but if the content of the work lacked originality and substance, Paul would say no. Alternatively if a less experienced author was trying to be creative in his or her thinking, Paul would help bring the work to fruition. Consequently many, many of us have benefited from his generosity. In all my projects involving the journal Psychoanalytic Inquiry, the Psychoanalytic Inquiry Book Series, and my own books, Paul has always been willing to advise and support — both as a mentor and sponsor — like a caring parent. I will greatly miss working intimately with him.”

Joseph Lichtenberg, M.D., editor-in-chief, Psychoanalytic Inquiry; author, Psychoanalysis and Infant Research (1983), Psychoanalysis and Motivation (1989), Craft and Spirit: A Guide to Exploratory Psychotherapies (2005), and many other books

“I am ever grateful to you for your place in the development of my professional life. Aside from your singular place in bringing to all of us so much of the significant contemporary psychoanalytic literature on which we have grown, your receptiveness to me at every phase of the development of my book makes me forever appreciative. You organized and cultivated a family at The Analytic Press, and I came to feel like a part of the extended family. There will never be another analytic publishing house with the quality and heart of yours. When I was in college, William Shawn offered me an internship at The New Yorker under his tutelage for two summers. With you I found a similar feeling of a special institution with a special helmsman who, by instinct and taking chances, brought nascent writers to life.”

Stuart Pizer, Ph.D., author, Building Bridges: The Negotiation of Paradox in Psychoanalysis (1998) top

For Paul

It was deep in November of two thousand and four

I had written a book — I didn't know exactly what for

I thought my story compelling — and yes it was true

But some felt it unmarketable; I was feeling quite blue

I had spoken to Irwin who said: How 'bout contacting Lew?

See if he has an idea or knows what to do

Lew liked it a lot, but for his series it might not fit

He was tempted to stretch it, but he worried a bit

Lew had a suggestion, the best one of all

“I know what to do; Send it to Paul!”

So I got on my e-mail and sent if off fast

I hoped I would hear before the year went past

I waited and waited — for a full eighteen hours

It was then I was first struck by Paul's editorial powers

He liked it — he did! He thought it was good

Was I interested, if so, publish it he would

There were some legal wrangles, should I really name names?

There were clogs, there were tangles and other word-games

We e-mailed manuscripts and markups, good questions resulted

Seven months flew by — and no one's insulted!

We talked about doctors, though usually not Seuss

Their great healing powers and how sometimes they're obtuse

We spoke of their fallibility and also their boldness

Their inclinations toward warmth, their constraints and their coldness

But we still hadn't met, it seemed kinda weird

Did Paul actually exist? Did he have a long beard?

So I drove out to Jersey and promptly got lost

Was Paul like a rolling stone that had gathered no moss?

Then I met all his colleagues, strong women with flair

A web of relatedness, a workplace of care

Now it's all gone, that's something — a grief

A sadness, a loss — from which there is no relief

Now it's all gone — But actually, No!

That which Paul created just doesn't go

It reverberates, it abounds, look all around you, we know

Paul's creativity is with us — it will not let go

A house of plenty amongst us, it dances, it sings

Still forming and fancying — now just on its wings

— David Newman, author, Talking with Doctors (2005)