Selma G. Lanes

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Selma Gordon Lanes (born 1929 in Dorchester , MA ; † April 8, 2009 in Honesdale , PA ) was an American author, editor, literary critic and journalist with a focus on children's and youth literature .

Life

After attending Dorchester High School for Girls , she studied at Smith College , a private women's college in Northampton , MA. She completed her studies there in 1950 with a BA . She then studied at the Columbia School of Journalism .

After completing her studies, she worked for several years as an editor at Parents Magazine , a monthly magazine for young parents founded in 1926, which she later became editor-in-chief of Parents Magazine Press . She then headed the children's book division of Western Publishing , best known for its children's book series Little Golden Books . ( Similar to the Pixi books in appearance and price .) Lanes published a number of books on children's literature and was considered a specialist in Maurice Sendak and Tomi Ungerer . Her book reviews have appeared in the New York Times and Horn Book Magazine , among others . On the state of American literary criticism of children's books, Lanes wrote in the foreword to her book Down the Rabbit Hole in 1971 :

“No popular art form of our time - possibly with the exception of advertising and film - is as experimental, inventive and lively as children's books, especially books for younger age groups. […] And yet the critical examination of children's books is not carried out with the same seriousness that film criticism - and also criticism of advertising - enjoys. "

- Selma G. Lanes : 1971

Lanes lived in New York City until shortly before her death .

Works

Literary criticism
  • Down the Rabbit Hole: Adventures & Misadventures in the Realm of Children's Literature . Atheneum, New York 1971.
  • The Art of Maurice Sendak . Abrams, New York 1980. (Abrams, New York 1993 expanded reissue, ISBN 0-8109-8063-0 .)
  • Through the Looking Glass: Further Adventures & Misadventures in the Realm of Children's Literature . David R. Godine, Boston 2006, ISBN 1-56792-318-6 .
Children's books
  • The Curiosity Book , illustrated by Robert J. Lee. Platt & Munk, New York 1968.
  • Windows of Gold and other Golden Tales , retold by Selma G. Lanes, with illustrations by Kimberly Bulcken Root. Simon and Schuster, New York 1989, ISBN 0-671-64377-0 .

literature

  • Leonard Marcus, Leonard S. Marcus: Minders of Make-Believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children's Literature . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Orlando (FL) 2008, ISBN 0-395-67407-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Deaths: Lanes, Selma G. In: New York Times, April 19, 2009.
  2. ^ Leonard Marcus, Leonard S. Marcus: Minders of Make-Believe . Orlando 2008, pp. 255-256.
personal data
SURNAME Lanes, Selma G.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lanes, Selma Gordon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author, editor, literary critic and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Dorchester , MA
DATE OF DEATH April 8, 2009
Place of death Honesdale , PA