An Appreciation of Paul Elovitz: Tending the Garden of Psychohistory

Paul Elovitz’ career-long contributions to the discipline and evolution of psychohistory abound in his curriculum vitae and in the essays of this Festschrift that honor him. His work in psychobiography alone establishes him as one of the pioneers of the field who went on to build upon its foundation. Then there is Paul’s de-

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votion to serving as captain and navigator (editor) of Clio’s Psyche for three decades. His career is replete with countless individual building blocks of psychohistory.

Here I wish to focus on Paul Elovitz’ key role as a person who, since the mid-1970s, tended the garden of psychohistory. That is, he devoted a prodigious amount of time, creativity, leadership, initiative, and sheer labor to growing and nourishing the field. He not only added numerous individual, outstanding parts to the discipline, but he also worked just as exhaustively on behalf of psychohistory as an ever-changing, ever-developing whole. I witnessed this personally, almost from the beginning, in the mid-1970s.

In his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959), Erving Goffman advanced the dramaturgical metaphor of human behavior: notably, front stage and backstage. Elovitz began and continues taking on and performing distinct roles all over the theater! For instance, in my mind, as founding and ongoing editor of Clio’s Psyche, he ever-imaginatively creates topical themes for a large section of many journal issues, soliciting writers, and participating in the painstaking review process, editing, and publication of the thematic section as well as the entire journal. Likewise, Paul founded, leads, and organizes thematically-based seminars/workshops for the Psychohistory Forum.

Quiet and meticulous “behind the scenes,” he is gently but outspokenly active in advocating for scholarly rigor in the International Psychohistorical Association (IPhA, formerly the IPA) as well as the Psychohistory Forum and its journal, Clio’s Psyche, and as a member of the IPhA’s Leadership Team. In the early 1980s, many other members of the IPhA turned their energies away from the organization. Paul stayed, becoming president in 1988 while simultaneously founding the Forum and, in turn, Clio, to try and move the field away from a person (and personality)-centered and a monolithic single-theory dominated field.

Elovitz and his colleagues sought to increase intellectual rigor and more open, diverse conceptual and explanatory conversation in psychohistory. Elovitz, an unassuming and diligent psychobiographer, is also a revolutionary in the evolution of psychohistory. His openness to new ideas, theories, and approaches has perhaps most recently found expression in his advocacy for the place of applied poetry as a tool of psychohistorical research and under-

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standing.

In short, Elovitz, the quiet, laborious scholar and teacher “backstage” in psychohistory, is also a strong voice of leadership on the “front stage” as well—always directing attention to the work that needs to be done to advance the field and away from personal-political charismatic leadership. He tends the garden to grow the field of psychohistory. Paul focuses his attention on the garden, not the gardener. Put in the language of psychoanalytic theory, Elovitz’ approach recalls Erik Erikson’s work on the synthetic function of the ego and Heinz Kohut’s notion of a cohesive self. Synthesis and cohesiveness were and are central to his style.

A considerable part of Elovitz’ time has been spent mentoring—from working with students in university classrooms, to encouraging newcomers at conferences and already “seasoned” psychohistorians. I am living evidence of this relationship. I never experienced myself with Paul as too old, too ancient, and beyond criticism. Although Paul was the final authority in his role as journal editor, I never experienced him as overbearing or condescending. Even in this relationship, just like in every other, I learn from Paul, and he learns from me. Our relationship has long been an ever-expanding open spiral. Nothing remains the same in our enduring friendship and collaboration except for respect and affection.

Several years ago, Paul asked me to serve as a kind of gentle organizational facilitator for the IPhA Leadership Team since “strong personalities” often publicly clashed at our meetings (frequently online), while many other members might feel too intimidated to voice their views. Over the decades, Paul’s integrity, always voiced in respectful understatement, attempted to lower the flames and heat of position-taking.

I immediately agreed to Paul’s informal invitation and expressed gratitude that he could imagine my role as IPhA conference group facilitator transferred to our organizational leadership group. Paul has always urged me beyond what I thought I could do—for the sake of all facets of psychohistory. When I often gave up on myself, he refused to give up on me.

Psychohistory’s garden always needs tending so that it can grow and flourish in all ways. For nearly 50 years, Paul Elovitz has helped the garden of psychohistory to be sustainable.

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