Lisa Stein Haven is a Professor of English at Ohio University Zanesville, a regional campus of Ohio University. She specializes in 20th century British and American literature and composition. Her research interests are exclusively in silent film comedy, especially the work of Charlie and Syd Chaplin, Buster Keaton and now Max Linder.
Haven organized and directed the first ever Charlie Chaplin conference on American soil, “Charlie in the Heartland: An International Charlie Chaplin conference” October 28-30, 2010. The event was attended by participants from 11 countries outside the United States. Luminaries such as Kate Guyonvarch (Roy Export S.A.S.), David Robinson (“Chaplin: His Life and Art”), Chuck Maland (“Chaplin and American Culture: The Evolution of a Star Image”), David Shepard, film preservationist and many others participated.
Haven has served on the board of the Buster Keaton Celebration in Iola, KS since 2009, ending in 2017.
Haven frequently presents papers or lectures on silent film comedy topics. She presented at BKC every year and has presented at the EBSN (European Beat Studies Network) two times, both on Chaplin and the Beats. In 2014, she was a Keynote speaker at Charlot 100, the anniversary celebration of the creation of Chaplin’s Little Tramp in Bologna, Italy, June 2014. In 2015, she presented a program on Syd Chaplin at the Cinema Museum in London, UK. She’s also participated in several radio programs on Chaplin, including one on the BBC and most recently on France Radio Culture (July 2016). Most recently, Haven was interviewed from an upcoming documentary on Sydney Chaplin, produced by Steamboat Films, Paris (a division of Lobster) and Cine + Classic television, called “Sydney: l’autre Chaplin,” to be broadcast in November 2017. She has written program notes for several Max Linder films for Kennington Bioscope’s frequent silent film comedy weekends and will be present there this April (via video) introducing Syd Chaplin and his final film “A Little Bit of Fluff."
In addition to her many publications, she has contributed to several DVD/Blu-ray packages on Chaplin, including Criterion films edition of “Modern Times” and “The Kid.”
Most recently, she has published the first life and art book-length study of Max Linder in English, collaborating with Catherine Cormon of the Amsterdam EYE Film Museum, who has written the filmography. It was released April 19, 2021.
Her next two book projects will be with publish Pen & Sword UK, one on Chaplin’s First National period and one on Keaton’s Comique films. Both should be out in 2022.
Haven lives in Zanesville, OH with her violinist husband, Mark Haven, and her two dogs, Kallie and Stella.