Lahr, Jane 1943-

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Lahr, Jane 1943-

PERSONAL:

Born 1943; daughter of Bert Lahr (an actor).

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY, and St. Louis, MO.

CAREER:

Author and editor. Worked in special sales for Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, NY.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Lena Tabori) Love: A Celebration in Art and Literature, Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York, NY), 1982, revised twentieth anniversary edition, 2001.

(Editor, with Jenna Bassin) A Garden of Prayer: A Family Treasury, illustrated by Julie Rauer, Philosophical Library (New York, NY), 1989.

(Editor, with Peg Streep and Leslie Garisto) An American Christmas: A Celebration of Our Heritage from around the World, illustrated by Emily Boland, Philosophical Library (New York, NY), 1989.

(Editor) Eros, Stewart, Tabori & Chang (New York, NY), 1996.

(Editor) The Celtic Quest in Art and Literature: An Anthology from Merlin to Van Morrison, Welcome Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Searching for Mary Magdalene: A Journey through Art and Literature, Welcome Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Also editor of Jean Howard's Hollywood and Only the Best.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jane Lahr, the daughter of Bert Lahr, who played the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, served as coeditor of Love: A Celebration in Art and Literature. The book contains selections from such diverse writers as William Shakespeare, Cole Porter, Carson McCullers, Kurt Vonnegut, and Martin Buber, as well as works from such celebrated artists as Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, and Constantin Brancusi.

Lahr also edited The Celtic Quest in Art and Literature: An Anthology from Merlin to Van Morrison, "a lavish book and a true treat for anyone with a love of anything Celtic," wrote Foreword reviewer Nava Hall. In the work, Lahr combines photographs, relics, and paintings with stories, poems, and ballads from such writers as W.B. Yeats, Dylan Thomas, and William Blake.

Lahr spent three years researching Searching for Mary Magdalene: A Journey through Art and Literature, a "textual and visual voyage through history and myth," observed Library Journal contributor C. Brian Smith. Illustrated with some 150 paintings, including masterworks by Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, and interspersed with excerpts from poems, medieval tales, letters, Gnostic texts, and the Bible, Searching for Mary Magdalene examines the lore and history surrounding the enigmatic figure and her relationship with Jesus. The volume "accessibly presents a concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene," noted Susan Bethany in Reviewer's Bookwatch.