Prayers for Peace in a Time of War

Stuart Copans has been cutting paper since 1978 and has been cutting what he calls “Papercuts for Peace” since the birth of his first grandchild in Jerusalem seventeen years ago. Most of these papercuts contain the word “Peace” in English, Hebrew, or Arabic. Others grow out of the belief that words are not a necessary part of praying, and that one can pray by painting, planting, making music, dancing, or, as in these works, by cutting paper. Anything done with the right intention can be a prayer.

He is a member of the Guild of American Papercutters and has both studied and taught at their Biennial meetings.

When not cutting paper, Copans is a husband, father, grandfather, and child psychiatrist. He was born in Springfield Massachusetts, educated at Harvard and earned his MD at Stanford Medical School.

He currently teaches in the Child Psychiatry Program at Dartmouth Medical School, sees patients at the NFI Hospital Diversion Program, provides supervision for child psychiatry trainees and nurse practitioners, and is a member of the research committee of the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry.