Winnicott’s Letter to Bion: Playing, Dreaming, and Beyond

Winnicott’s Letter to Bion presents reflections on a fascinating moment in the history of psychoanalytic thinking.

Donald Winnicott’s letter, sent on October 5, 1967, and conveying thoughts about two of Wilfred Bion’s papers, never received a response. In this book, international contributors elaborate on the contents of the letter, overlapping and divergent projects of the two psychoanalysts, and the meaning of Bion’s silence. The chapters consider topics including the historical context of their work, their focuses on play and reverie, and the question of the sensuous.

Winnicott’s Letter to Bion will be of great interest to psychoanalysts in practice and in training, and to historians of psychoanalysis.

Steven H. Cooper is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, and the Columbia Centre for Psychoanalytic Training and Research. A recipient of the JAPA Prize in 1989, he is also Chief Editor Emeritus of Psychoanalytic Dialogues. He is the author of numerous papers and seven books on psychoanalysis.

Christopher G. Lovett trained at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, where he currently serves on the faculty. A former member of the editorial boards of The International Journal of Psychoanalysis and The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, he maintains a private practice in Newton Centre, Massachusetts.