Roslyn Bernstein
AUTHOR, JOURNALIST, EDUCATOR, ARTIST
About
Roslyn Bernstein is the author of four books: Boardwalk Stories, a collection of 14 fictional tales set from 1950 to 1970; the co-author with the architect Shael Shapiro of Illegal Living: 80 Wooster Street and the Evolution of SoHo; Engaging Art: Essays and Interviews from Around the Globe, a collection of 60 of her online avant-garde art pieces; and most recently, a novel, The Girl Who Counted Numbers.
Since the 1980s, she has been reporting from around the globe for such print publications as the New York Times, Newsday, the Village Voice, New York Magazine, Parents, and the Columbia Journalism Review. She has also reported for various online publications including Medium, Tablet, Huffington Post, and Guernica, focusing primarily on cultural reporting and contemporary art, with in-depth interviews with artists, curators, and gallerists.
Currently, Professor Emerita in the Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions at Baruch College of the City University of New York (CUNY), she taught journalism and creative writing classes from 1974-2016. A devoted teacher, she served as an advisor to Ticker, the college newspaper and established Dollars and $ense, the Baruch College business magazine. During her time at Baruch, she served as the director of the Journalism Program and was the Founding Director of the Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence Program, a residency that has brought over 30 distinguished poets, playwrights, critics, and journalists to campus to teach intensive classes for gifted students. Prof. Bernstein is a recipient of the College’s Distinguished Awards for Teaching and Service.
Before coming to Baruch, she worked at Esquire and attended graduate school. She holds a Bachelors Degree from Brandeis University and aMasters and Ph.D in English Literature from New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Events
Upcoming Events
June 15, 2024, 2:00pm: Liberty Museum & Art Center Book Talk.
Past Events
March 27, 2024, 7:00pm: Zoom Book Talk with Raleigh-Cary Area Hadassah Chapter.
May 14, 2024: In person talk with Literary Tea Book Club NYC
May 9, 2024: Yom Hashoah talk at The Educational Alliance, NYC
April 1, 2024,7:30pm: NYC Book Club Zoom
November 9, 2023, 6:00pm: Book Talk, The Girl Who Counted Numbers at the Jefferson Market Library, Greenwich Village, 425 6th Avenue, New York City.
July 31, 2023: Book Talk, The Girl Who Counted Numbers at the Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library, Monticello, NY. Link here.
June 27, 2023: Panel discussion, "Beyond These Walls: Material Culture of Jewish and Chinese Detainees" at the Center for Jewish History, NYC. See the panel discussion here.
May 25, 2023: Book Talk at Tribeca Synagogue, NYC
May 15, 2023: Zoom talk with Buffalo, NY Hadassah book club.
March 14, 2023: Zoom talk with Tyler Street Book Club, Berkeley, CA. Fabulous questions about how and why I wrote The Girl Who Counted Numbers. A strong feeling that although the book was set in 1961, it resonates with issues of today
January 10, 2023: Interview on Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews about The Girl Who Counted Numbers. See the interview here.
December 8, 2022 at 6:00pm: Zoom talk on The Girl Who Counted Numbers. Roslyn Bernstein in conversation with Weissman School Dean Jessica Lang. Sponsored by the Baruch College Wasserman Jewish Studies Center. See video above.
November 28, 2022: Book talk at the Mulberry Street branch of the New York Public Library. In person event. Space is limited. Please reserve at rbernst662@gmail.com.
Now Live: Roz Bernstein in conversation with Wayne Hoffman, Executive Editor of tabletmag.com, on the Unorthodox podcast. A discussion of The Girl Who Counted Numbers.
October 17, 2022: Book talk to New York City English in Action group
August 28, 2022: Book talk at the Buffalo Colony, Woodbourne NY.
Photos by Jeff Mermelstein
Monday, April 19th at 1:00 PM. A Writer's Life. A Zoom discussion on writing fiction and non-fiction--for students and tutors in my English Chat class. For notes from the talk click here
Thursday, September 24, 2020: Zoom talk 6:30-7:30 PM
Manny Cantor Center at The Educational Alliance
Three Socially Engaged Photographers: A Reporter's Experience
This event will focus on the work of Jill Freedman, Shawn Walker, and Ruby Rumie.
Please join us. Click here to RSVP
Saturday, October 17, 2020. Live Stream panel discussion 10:00 AM
The Spin it Social Hour: Let's Talk Photography and Social Media with Steffen Kaplan
LA FRONTERA: Artists Along the US Mexico Border: a project by Stefan Falke
Roslyn Bernstein, Monica Lozano, Patty Fontes & Alonzo Elias, Claudia Steinberg
Stream at youtube.com/c/SpinItSocialHour
"Whether you are taking pictures, documenting, collecting #art, or writing about it, you are doing it in today's highly politicized world, and there is no better timing to do so, than in this moment in America." --Roslyn Bernstein
Monday, October 19, 2020: Zoom talk 6:30 -7:30 PM
New York University Alumni Office in Collaboration with the Grey Art Gallery
Roslyn Bernstein in Conversation with Lynn Gumpert, Director of the Grey Art Gallery at New York University, about reporting on art in downtown New York City.
Sunday, October 25, 2020: Zoom talk 6:00 -7:00 PM
Tribeca Synagogue Sunday Shmooze. Talk on Contemporary Israeli and Palestinian Artists, the Public Architecture of Giancarlo Mazzanti, and the Incendiary Photography of Jill Freedman, drawn from my new collection, Engaging Art: Essays and Interviews from Around the Globe.
Please join us at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83129283487
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Zoom Talk with Prof. Gisele Regatao's Feature Article Writing class at Baruch College, CUNY on The Art and Craft of Feature Writing: Coming up with an original idea and reporting and writing a thoughtful and compelling story.
This talk will focus on "Weaving Streets" and "Heavier Than Air," two features on the Colombian photographer Ruby Rumie as well as a discussion of a third piece on the history and evolution of The Educational Alliance on NYC's Lower Eastside: "Changing With the Neighborhood: Serving a Largely Hispanic and Chinese Community, While Holding on to its Core Jewish Values."
Student Tweets about the Talk:
noel stevens🌵 (@noelsaturn) tweeted at 10:27 AM on Wed, Nov 04, 2020:
Author, journalist, and professor @RoslynBernstein spoke remotely with journalism students this morning in front of her shelves packed with papers. She spoke about what inspires her writing and how to craft stories, saying "you can’t be too defensive as a writer."
Yasmeen Persaud (@YasmeenPersaud) tweeted at 9:54 AM on Wed, Nov 04, 2020:
@RoslynBernstein also discussed race and culture in reference to a question by @jahlil_rush asking what he could do to publish impactful journalism. It’s important to “push the envelope on your reporting,” she states.
Giselle Medina (@gigi__medina) tweeted at 10:38 AM on Wed, Nov 04, 2020:
Author, professor, and journalist @RoslynBernstein was @Gregatao's guest speaker today. In response to how she maintains an intriguing story, she said, "I️ ask some feisty questions."
Jahlil Rush (@jahlil_rush) tweeted at 9:43 AM on Wed, Nov 04, 2020:
"You have to do deep thoughtful reporting" @RoslynBernstein told me when asked about reporting as a journalist of color and reporting on racial topics in America.
Sofia Fugon (@sofiafugon) tweeted on Wed. Nov 4:
“My takeaway is that you, the younger journalists, have an even bigger job in front of you as we look to the future,” @RoslynBernstein
told our class today as we discussed the #Election2020
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Zoom Talk with Prof. Andrea Gabor's The Arts in New York City class at Baruch College, CUNY, on the theme of protest in the work of Jill Freedman (Images of life in Resurrection City on the National Mall, April 1968), Charles "Teenie" Harris (capturing Black life in Pittsburgh, PA), and Allen Ginsberg (Snapshots of the BEAT experience).
November 21, 2020 to March 28, 2021
Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop at The Whitney Museum features the work of Shawn Walker who is profiled in Chapter 54 of Engaging Art.
Shawn Walker at Home
117th Street, Harlem, New York, ca. 1965
December 14, 2020
Cambridge Scholars Publishing launches "Book in Focus," a new blog series featuring Roslyn Bernstein's reflections on her "Life as a Cultural Journalist" and on Engaging Art: Essays and Interviews from Around the Globe. Click here to view the blog.