Leah Lax

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Leah Lax
Born1956 (age 67–68)
Alma materUniversity of Houston
MFA, Creative Writing
Website
leahlaxauthor.com

Leah Lax is an American author and librettist.[1] She is best known for her memoir Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home which was later developed as an opera with composer Lori Laitman.[2][3]

Biography

Lax was born in 1956[citation needed] in Dallas, Texas. She joined the Lubavitcher Hasidim at sixteen.[4] In 1975, Lax entered an arranged marriage at the age of 19,[5] and remained among the Hasidim for thirty years, bearing seven children.[6] In 2002 she left the community to lead a secular life and live openly as a lesbian.[7] Subsequently, Lax graduated from the University of Houston with an MFA in Creative Writing.[8] She had completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin.[4]

Career

Her interest in writing started while reading anthologies by feminist and lesbian poet Adrienne Rich.[8] Lax started writing in earnest after she underwent a secret abortion to terminate a life-threatening pregnancy.[9] In 2007 Lax co-wrote The Refuge for the Houston Grand Opera with composer Christopher Theofanidis debuted at Houston's Wortham Center.[10] In 2013, she created and designed Houston's In Concert Against Hate for the Houston Symphony In collaboration with the Anti-Defamation League,[11] In 2020, Lax created an opera Uncovered with composer Lori Laitman and director/dramatist Beth Greenberg.[3] Lax wrote the libretto based on her memoir Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home,[12] narrating thirty years as a Hasidic wife, mother, and closeted lesbian.[13][14]

Uncovered was named Redbook Magazine's "Best of 2015".[15]

References

  1. ^ Villalpando, Nicole. "How Leah Lax left Hasidism, came out as a lesbian and wrote a book". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  2. ^ "Leah Lax Biography". Potsdam. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  3. ^ a b White, Emily (March 31, 2022). "Utah State opera premieres "Uncovered"". The Utah Statesman. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Marloff, Sarah (February 16, 2016). "Uncovering Leah Lax". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  5. ^ Galehouse, Maggie (August 28, 2015). "After decades as Hasidic Jew, gay Houston author Leah Lax writes new life". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  6. ^ "'Off the Path' Memoirs of ex-Hasidic Jews Shine Light on Faigy Mayer's World". Haaretz. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. ^ Pfefferman, Naomi (September 2, 2015). "Author Leah Lax: A lesbian girl in an Orthodox world". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Himmelstein, Drew (July 8, 2016). "Author to speak in S.F. about her adios to Hasidic world". J. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  9. ^ "Off the path: Ex-Hasid memoirs shine a spotlight on Faigy Mayer's world". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (November 12, 2007). "Not From Here: An Opera for Houston's Immigrants". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. ^ "ADL awes audience in centennial celebration". Jewish Herald-Voice. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  12. ^ "USU Opera Premieres 'Uncovered'". Utah State Today. March 30, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Enszer, Julie R. (October 8, 2015). "'Uncovered: How I left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home' by Leah Lax". Lambda Literary Foundation. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  14. ^ "Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home | Jewish Book Council". Jewish Book Council. 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "The 20 Best Books By Women in 2015". Redbook. December 29, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2022.


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