REPETITION, RETURN, REBIRTH: On the psychoanalytic poetry of Cynthia Cruz and the Summer Solstice with Emmalea Russo

REPETITION, RETURN, REBIRTH: On the psychoanalytic poetry of Cynthia Cruz and the Summer Solstice

A prelude to the summer solstice: the longest day of the year! As we approach the summer solstice, the sun expands its reach. On the solstice, which falls on June 21st this year, the sun will reach its peak. In this talk, the poet, astrologer, and novelist Emmalea Russo will explore poems from Cynthia Cruz's recent collection, Sweet Repetition, focusing on repetition, return, and rebirth via the language in the poems, Freud's views on repetition, and Earth's revolutions around the sun. What is the difference between sweet repetition and a feedback loop? Generative returns which herald rebirth and repetition compulsions? Why do we return, again and again, to the past? And what can poetry, with its repetitions and refrains, teach us about rebirth and renewal? There will be time for discussion and free association. It's recommended that you familiarize yourself with Cruz's work, especially Sweet Repetition, but we will be reading some of her poems in class, so no prior experience with the text is required. 

We will be meeting online for 2 hours beginning at 10AM NYC (7AM Vancouver/ 3PM London/ 16:00 Stockholm/ 17:00 Beirut/ midnight Sydney) on Sunday, June 7th.

This event will be recorded and made available for all those who register.

THE POETRY OF PSYCHOANALYSIS: A SEASONAL SERIES with Emmalea Russo

On the eve of each season, the poet, novelist, and astrologer Emmalea Russo will present on a particular poet or artist who has dealt with psychoanalysis in their work in interesting and generative ways. There will be time for discussion and free association during class. Our first class in the series, in March of 2026, focused on the life and work of the poet H.D., as well as her book Tribute to Freud and her relationship to psychoanalysis. We also discussed Pisces season and the end of winter/beginning of spring in relation to H.D.'s work. The next classes in the series will be held on June 7th (prior to the summer solstice), September 6th (prior to the autumn equinox), and December 6th (prior to the winter solstice). This series aims to connect poets and psychoanalysis in wild and unexpected ways while catapulting us into the next season. Freud wrote that the poets discovered the unconscious well before he did. So, what can poets teach us about the unconscious, psychoanalysis, and the seasons we move through?

Upcoming events in this series:

June 7th: Repetition, Return, Rebirth: On the psychoanalytic poetry of Cynthia Cruz and the Summer Solstice

September 6th: Fantasia of the Unconscious: D.H. Lawrence and the Autumn Equinox 

December 6th: Extreme Activities: Louise Bourgeois and the Winter Solstice

This event series is hosted by Rendering Unconscious Center for Psychoanalysis 

Image: In Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the sun never dips below the horizon on the longest day of the year. PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN STABLYK, GETTY