Abraham H. Lass (1907–2001)
Author of Dictionary of Classical, Biblical, and Literary Allusions
About the Author
Abraham H. Lass, 1907 - 2001 Abraham Lass was born on September 16, 1907 in Brooklyn New York to Russian Jewish immigrants. When he entered elementary school in 1913, he only spoke yiddish yet managed to learn a great deal of English from the streets. He attended the Manual Training School in show more Brooklyn, and at the age of sixteen, he began playing the piano during silent movies at the Eagle Theater in Borough Park. He worked at the theater every weekend for four years, a job which helped him to pay for college. In 1929 he graduated from City College with his bachelor's degree, then from Columbia Teachers in College in 1931 with his master's degree. From 1931 to 1950, Lass taught at many different high schools in the city. He was named principal of New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn in 1950, and five years later attained the same position at at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brighton Beach. He wrote and edited more than two dozen books, among them "The Way to Write" with Rudolph Flesch in 1947; "How to Prepare for College" in 1962 and "The College Student's Handbook" with Eugene Wilson in 1965. Lass also wrote a column in the New York Post for many years, as well as a syndicated column for the Herald Tribune. Lass retired in 1971 after sixteen years as the principal of Abraham Lincoln High. He continued to write and lecture, as well as teach english to inmates on Riker's Island and foreign born doctors. He died in March of 2001 at the age of 93. show less
Works by Abraham H. Lass
A Student's Guide to 50 European Novels: Brief Plot Outlines, Character Analyses, Critical Evaluations (1978) 22 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Lass, Abraham H.
- Legal name
- Lass, Abraham Harold
- Other names
- Lass, A. H.
- Birthdate
- 1907-09-16
- Date of death
- 2001-03-16
- Gender
- male
- Education
- City College of New York (B.S.; 1929)
Columbia Teachers College (M.S.; 1931) - Occupations
- piano player for silent movies
educator (high school English & principal; 1931-1971)
newspaper columnist
author - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
- Place of death
- Fresh Meadows, New York, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- New York, USA
Members
Reviews
I love the short story form--fell in love with a lot listed here have been favorites since they were assigned in high school: Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner," O'Connor's "Everything That Rises Must Converge," Cather's "Paul's Case," Chekhov's "The Bet," Benet's "By the Waters of Babylon" (a science fiction story no less), Crane's "The Open Boat," Welty's "The Worn Path," Broun's "The Fifty-First Dragon," Saki's "The Interlopers," and the work that forms part of the title, Conrad's show more novella, "The Secret Sharer." Anyone with an American high school education will recognize several other authors and titles. Sure, there's a lot of the great short story writers missing--Poe, Hawthorne, Hemingway among others. And many of these are in the public domain and can now be found online. I'd recommend other short story anthologies over this one, particularly Moffett's Point of View or Best American Short Stories of the Century, but this isn't a bad choice when looking for a collection of 23 of the best. show less
If you are looking for a good collection of modern one acts written up until mid-20th century, this is a pretty good collection. Of course this contained the standard "Riders to the Sea" by John M. Synge, but it also contains such gems as "The Browning Version" by Terence Rattigan, "Thunder on Sycamore Street" by Reginald Rose, and "A Trip to Czardis" by Edwin Granberry
A brilliant, comprehensive guide to good writing.
I found the chapter on 'close up and faraway' writing particularly helpful in thinking about how I choose words.
I found the chapter on 'close up and faraway' writing particularly helpful in thinking about how I choose words.
After 2500 years, the short play remains "a flourishing and exciting literary genre".[14] This book provides the text of three TV plays, three realistic dramas (including the breathless fraud of "Lord Byron's Love Letter"), three comedies, a radio play, a tragedy, and a theatrical experiment by Thornton Wilder, "The Happy Journey".
The Editors provide brief biographies of the playrights, and a description of each work.
The Editors provide brief biographies of the playrights, and a description of each work.
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 23
- Members
- 1,125
- Popularity
- #22,838
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 8
- ISBNs
- 52
- Languages
- 1