Wendy Lesser is the founder and editor of The Threepenny Review and the author of a novel and ten previous books of nonfiction, including the widely acclaimed You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn. She has written for the New York Times Book Review, the New York Review of Books, the London Review of Books, and other publications.
A compact and incisive portrait of the great dancer and choreographer. . . . A breezy and inviting biography. --Kirkus Reviews This brief but carefully researched biography (part of the Jewish Lives series) builds a persuasive case for the importance of Jerome Robbins's career as a choreographer . . . . An evenhanded portrait. --Publishers Weekly Can you separate the art from the artist? Through Robbins's dances, Lesser intelligently and critically examines his work. Her writing inspires an exciting dialogue with the reader--and with Robbins's art and process--that makes you feel up close and inside his dances. --Pam Tanowitz Wendy Lesser's book is a brief but concentrated look at the excellent and varied work of a complicated artist. Jerome Robbins made some of the best dances in town. Ever in Balanchine's long shadow, he somehow had the chops and the chutzpah to choreograph for the same media (Broadway, movies, and the ballet) and with a similar expertise. This book answers questions I didn't know I had. It is a fascinating and generous point of view. --Mark Morris Through her own unique lens as a literary critic and writer with a strong appreciation for dance, Wendy Lesser presents a rich, unexpected portrait of Jerome Robbins. Lesser's delicately crafted book is a boon to the study of Robbins and dance criticism. --Emily Coates, Yale University