John Lahr's Reading List

The author of "Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh" is not a fan of science fiction. "Life on earth is mysterious and terrifying enough."

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By the Book: John Lahr (2014)

NYT By the Book column (2014-09-18).

Source: www.nytimes.com

A Life

Elia Kazan · Buy on Amazon

"For historical witness and theatrical insight, Elia Kazan's 'A Life' is in a class by itself."

Odets: American Playwright

Margaret Brenman-Gibson · Buy on Amazon

"I also admire the depth and range of Margaret Brenman-Gibson's psychoanalytic approach in 'Odets: American Playwright.'"

Stage Blood

Michael Blakemore · Buy on Amazon

"Michael Blakemore's 'Stage Blood,' about creating Britain's National Theater with Sir Laurence Olivier, is first-rate: unusual both for its candor and its elegance."

Shakespeare's Festive Comedy

C. L. Barber · Buy on Amazon

"C. L. Barber's 'Shakespeare's Festive Comedy' stands out for me down the decades as a revelation about comedy and its relation to Elizabethan society."

First Love

Ivan Turgenev · Buy on Amazon

"Ivan Turgenev's 'First Love.' Almost cinematic in its swift telling, this short novel is at once a punishing and thrilling depiction of infatuation and betrayal."

Lives of the Poets

Samuel Johnson · Buy on Amazon

"Samuel Johnson's 'Lives of the Poets': the first attempt to analyze poetry in the context of the life which created it. To me, Johnson is an exemplary critic: thrilling in both the witty balance of his judgment and his prose."

The Temptation to Exist

E. M. Cioran · Buy on Amazon

"E. M. Cioran, whose 'The Temptation to Exist' is never far from my desk."

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