Laura Jacobs
Encyclopedia
Laura Jacobs is a novelist, journalist, and dance critic. The Bird Catcher, her second novel, was published in June 2009, by St. Martin's Press
. In July, 2010 Picador released a paperback edition. Her first novel, Women About Town, a Literary Guild
selection, was published by Viking Press
in 2002, with French and Polish editions, followed by a paperback from Penguin
.
.
, Charles James
, Adrian, and Mainbocher
, and has made a specialty of writing about iconic American women, including Emily Post
, Gypsy Rose Lee
, Lilly Pulitzer
, and Julia Child
.
Jacobs began writing dance criticism in Chicago at the Chicago Reader. She has written about dance for The Atlantic Monthly, and held dance critic posts at The Boston Phoenix and The New Leader
. Since 1994, Jacobs has been the dance critic at The New Criterion
. In 2006 a collection of her New Criterion essays was published by Dance & Movement Press: Landscape with Moving Figures, A Decade on Dance. She also contributes to Ballet Review and Opera News.
From 1987 to 1995, Jacobs was the editor in chief of Stagebill, the national performing arts program magazine whose constituents included Lincoln Center
, The Kennedy Center
, Carnegie Hall
, Chicago Theater, and orchestras and opera companies around the country. During the late nineties, Jacobs wrote fashion criticism for both Modern Review
and The New Republic
. She collaborated with the incomparable fashion designer Geoffrey Beene
on Beauty and the Beene (Abrams Books
, 1999) and edited his last book, Beene by Beene (The Vendome Press, 2005).
, and lives on New York’s Upper West Side.
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
. In July, 2010 Picador released a paperback edition. Her first novel, Women About Town, a Literary Guild
Book of the Month Club
The Book of the Month Club is a United States mail-order book sales club that offers a new book each month to customers.The Book of the Month Club is part of a larger company that runs many book clubs in the United States and Canada. It was formerly the flagship club of Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc...
selection, was published by Viking Press
Viking Press
Viking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
in 2002, with French and Polish editions, followed by a paperback from Penguin
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
.
Background and education
Laura Jacobs hails from Chicago, Illinois, and holds a B.A. in English Literature from Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
.
Career
Jacobs has been a staff writer at Vanity Fair since 1995 where she has written award-winning pieces on design, fashion, and the performing arts. She has profiled the mid-century American designers Norman NorellNorman Norell
Norman Norell was an American fashion designer, known for his elegant suits and tailored silhouettes....
, Charles James
Charles James
Charles James may refer to:* Charles James , football player* Charles James , former U.S. assistant attorney general* Charles James * Charles Pinckney James , U.S. federal judge...
, Adrian, and Mainbocher
Mainbocher
Mainbocher is a fashion label founded by the American couturier Main Rousseau Bocher , also known as Mainbocher. Established in 1929, the house of Mainbocher successfully operated in Paris and then in New York...
, and has made a specialty of writing about iconic American women, including Emily Post
Emily Post
Emily Post was an American author famous for writing on etiquette.-Background:Post was born as Emily Price in Baltimore, Maryland, into privilege as the only daughter of architect Bruce Price and his wife Josephine Lee Price of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania...
, Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer famous for her striptease act. She was also an actress, author, and playwright whose 1957 memoir was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy.-Early life:...
, Lilly Pulitzer
Lilly Pulitzer
Lillian Pulitzer Rousseau , better known as Lilly Pulitzer, is a socialite and prominent fashion designer. She is known for founding Lilly Pulitzer, Inc., which produces clothing and other wares featuring bright, colorful prints...
, and Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
.
Jacobs began writing dance criticism in Chicago at the Chicago Reader. She has written about dance for The Atlantic Monthly, and held dance critic posts at The Boston Phoenix and The New Leader
The New Leader
The New Leader was a political and cultural magazine begun in 1924 by a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, including Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas, and published in New York by the American Labor Conference on International Affairs. Its orientation is liberal and...
. Since 1994, Jacobs has been the dance critic at The New Criterion
The New Criterion
The New Criterion is a New York-based monthly literary magazine and journal of artistic and cultural criticism, edited by Hilton Kramer and Roger Kimball. It has sections for criticism of poetry, theater, art, music, the media, and books...
. In 2006 a collection of her New Criterion essays was published by Dance & Movement Press: Landscape with Moving Figures, A Decade on Dance. She also contributes to Ballet Review and Opera News.
From 1987 to 1995, Jacobs was the editor in chief of Stagebill, the national performing arts program magazine whose constituents included Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
, The Kennedy Center
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
, Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Chicago Theater, and orchestras and opera companies around the country. During the late nineties, Jacobs wrote fashion criticism for both Modern Review
Modern Review (North American)
The Modern Review is a magazine based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada that styles itself a "North American literary journal".The first issue, 58 pages thick, is dated September 2005. It is published quarterly by the Parsifal Press Literary Arts Association, a nonprofit organization...
and The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
. She collaborated with the incomparable fashion designer Geoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene was an American fashion designer.Beene was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. He studied medicine at Tulane University, but dropped out in 1946, after three years. He moved to New York in 1947 to attend the Traphagen School of Fashion...
on Beauty and the Beene (Abrams Books
ABRAMS Books
Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. , is an American publisher of high-quality art and illustrated books, and the enterprise is presently a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe...
, 1999) and edited his last book, Beene by Beene (The Vendome Press, 2005).
Personal
She is a member of The Linnaean Society of New York, and a co-tender in the Riverside Park Bird Sanctuary. She is married to the writer James WolcottJames Wolcott
James Wolcott is an American journalist, known for his critique of contemporary media. Wolcott is the cultural critic for Vanity Fair and contributes to The New Yorker. He also writes a blog....
, and lives on New York’s Upper West Side.