Samuel Beckett, the only living playwright whose work--including Waiting for Godot and Endgame--guarantees him a place centerstage in the great modernist tradition, will mark his 80th bithday in April. This collection of original essays by thirteen noted critics evaluates the profound impact that Beckett's long and productive career continues to have on the contemporary imagination. From Foxrock, an affluent suburb of Dublin, to the Left Bank of Paris, and on to international--and Nobel Prize-winning--fame, Beckett developed a dramatic style that in many ways represents the theater of our times. A minor figure in the Paris avant-garde of the 1930s, Beckett does not come from nowhere," writes Enoch Brater. "He is very much a writer of his time, shaped by the forces of his time to speak to the new audience of his time." On the eve of his eightieth birthday, this book draws together essays by both established Beckett scholars and by drama specialsists who are commenting on Beckett for the first time. Together they establish a context and a precedent for thinking about Beckett's unique use of dramatic convention. Distinguished contributors include Ruby Cohn on "Growing (Up?) with Godot," John Russell Brown on "Beckett and the Art of the Non-Plus," the late Bernard Beckerman on "Beckett and the Act of Listening," and Martin Esslin on "Samuel Beckett--Infinity, Eternity." That the writers here often appear to be in dialogue with one another is a fitting tribute to that quality of spontaneity so many audiences still find in the Beckett repertory. About the Author: Enoch Brater is Associate Professor of English and Theater at the University of Michigan. He initiated a lecture series in Ann Arbor during 1984-85 which formed the basis for this book. Thirteen experts reevaulate the contributions of the great modernist playwright

Beckett at 80/Beckett in Context

Brater, Enoch

Oxford University Press

Beyond Minimalism explores Beckett's drama of the '70s and '80s, examining the ways in which play text and performance merge through the playwright's poetic idiom. Beginning with Not I and continuing through Catastrophe and What Where, Brater examines the plays not only as texts but also as theater pieces. Discussing the technical and aesthetic demands that productions like Footfalls and Rockaby make on actor, director, and spectator, Brater clarifies the essential relationship between Beckett's achievement in the context of the breakdown of genre, performance poetry, and the electronic intrusion of the recorded voice as a new theatrical convention. In the course of his analysis Brater demonstrates how Beckett's late style in the theater both continues and clarifies the dramatic lyricism that is the hallmark of earlier works such as Endgame and Waiting for Godot.

Beyond Minimalism: Beckett's Late Style in the Theater

Literature & Fiction

British & Irish

Beyond Minimalism explores Beckett's drama of the '70s and '80s, examining the ways in which play text and performance merge through the playwright's poetic idiom. Beginning with Not I and continuing through Catastrophe and What Where, Brater examines the plays not only as texts but also as theater pieces. Discussing the technical and aesthetic demands that productions like Footfalls and Rockaby make on actor, director, and spectator, Brater clarifies the essential relationship between Beckett's achievement in the context of the breakdown of genre, performance poetry, and the electronic intrusion of the recorded voice as a new theatrical convention. In the course of his analysis Brater demonstrates how Beckett's late style in the theater both continues and clarifies the dramatic lyricism that is the hallmark of earlier works such as Endgame and Waiting for Godot.

Dramas & Plays

The Drama in the Text argues that Beckett's late fiction, like his radio plays, demands to be read aloud, since much of the emotional meaning lodges in its tonality. In Beckett's haunting prose work the reader turns listener, collaborating with the sound of words to elucidate meaning from the silence of the universe. Enoch Brater ranges across all of Beckett's work, quoting from it liberally, and makes connections mainly with other writers, but also with details drawn from the entire Western cultural heritage. Brater serves as an authoritative and persuasive guide to the rich texture of such a difficult but compelling vocabulary, providing recognition, insight, and accessibility.

The Drama in the Text: Beckett's Late Fiction

History & Criticism

Theatre Journal Since Enoch Brater's essential study of Samuel Beckett's life and works was originally published before Beckett died, the author has taken the opportunity of this paperback reprint to bring his subject up to date. Beckett was undoubtedly a difficult writer, and one of the virtues of this biography is to give the general reader easier access to all aspects of his work, particularly the more elliptic theater and prose pieces of his later years. Brater follows Beckett's career from the early days in Ireland to the efllorescence in his chosen expatriate home in France just after the Second World War, and beyond that to his success in the rest of the world as a result of the universal appeal of his cryptic, moving play Waiting for Godot. Brater emphasizes the Irish rhythms in Beckett's writing and examines, at all stages, the intriguing relationship between his fiction and his compositions for theater, film, and television. Supported by a generous selection of photographs, including many examples of Beckett productions in all parts of the world, this is the indispensable guide to understanding one of the literary geniuses of the twentieth century.

Why Beckett

Thames&Hudson

"A reliable and detailed document, richly illustrated, of use to students of history and theatre alike."―The Times Educational Supplement Acting, direction, stagecraft, theatre architecture and design, above all the whole extraordinary evolution of dramatic literature – here is an all-embracing and richly illustrated history, worldwide in scope and ranging from the ancient origins of the theatre in the choral hymns sung around the altar of Dionysus to the fascinating variety of forms that it has taken in our own age. For this updated edition, Enoch Brater, Professor of English and Theatre at the University of Michigan and a specialist on modern and contemporary drama, brings the discussion up to the present day. He surveys new trends in theatre, including performance art, mixed-media stagings, multi-cultural theatre, feminism and theatre, dance theatre and ethnic drama, with a wealth of new illustrations and up-to-date reference material. 286 Illustrations, 41 in color

The Theatre: A Concise History (Third Edition) (World of Art)

Hartnoll, Phyllis

Humor & Entertainment

“A reliable and detailed document, richly illustrated, of use to students of history and theatre alike.” ―The Times Educational Supplement Acting, direction, stagecraft, theatre architecture and design, the extraordinary evolution of dramatic literature―here is an all-embracing and richly illustrated history, worldwide in scope and ranging from the ancient origins of the theatre in the choral hymns sung around the altar of Dionysus to the endless variety of forms that theatre takes in our own day. For this fourth edition, Enoch Brater, Professor of English and Theatre at the University of Michigan, has contributed a revised and extended final chapter on contemporary theatre and updated factual information throughout the book. With its wealth of illustrations and up-to-date reference material, this is an indispensable book for all theatre-goers. 294 illustrations, 46 in color

The Theatre (World of Art)

Reference

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

Samuel Beckett was one of the truly seminal and influential writers of the 20th century. The Nobel Prize for Literature awarded to him in 1969 symbolized his acceptance by the international community. He is undoubtedly a 'difficult' writer, and one of the virtues of Enoch Brater's concise literary biography is to give the general reader easier access to Beckett's work, particularly his later and more elliptical theatre and prose pieces. Professor Brater follows Beckett's career from the early days in Ireland, to the efflorexcence in France just after the Second World War, and beyond that to the unfolding of his success in the rest of the world following the universal appeal of his cryptic, moving play Waiting for Godot. In his analysis of the way Beckett approaches his work, Brater emphasises the Irish rhythms in his writing, and examines, at all stages, the intriguing relationships between his fiction and his compositions for theatre, film and television. Supported by a large selection of photographs, personal and public, this is a brilliant and informed study of Beckett's life and works.

The Essential Samuel Beckett: An Illustrated Biography, Revised Edition

An affectionate, understanding, and informed study of Miller's life and works, supported by a wide selection of personal and public photographs. Arthur Miller was one of the most highly regarded and widely performed playwrights of our time. With his probing and perceptive dramas, he succeeded in charting the landscape of the American psyche to create classics of modern theater that have found enthusiastic audiences all over the world. Enoch Brater's concise literary biography gives the general reader a welcome introduction to this most political and moral of writers, whose keen social conscience and insights into human nature made him a cornerstone of contemporary culture. Professor Brater follows Miller's career from his prize-winning student days at the University of Michigan, through the phenomenal success of his 1949 drama, Death of a Salesman, to his doomed marriage to the actress Marilyn Monroe, and beyond. Examining seminal works, including All My Sons, The Crucible, and A View from the Bridge, as well as commenting on Miller's journalism, fiction, screenplays, and acclaimed autobiography, Brater looks at how the writer, throughout his long career, achieved a fusion of family drama, political allegory, use of realism and expressionism, and themes of unrest and redemption, to stunning—and often devastating—effect. 122 illustrations.

Arthur Miller: A Playwright's Life and Works

Beckett is acknowledged as one of the greatest playwrights and most innovative fiction writers of the twentieth century with an international appeal that bridges both general and more specialist readers. This collection of essays by renowned Beckett scholar Enoch Brater offers a delightfully original, playful and intriguing series of approaches to Beckett's drama, fiction and poetry. 
 Beginning with a chapter entitled 'Things to Ponder While Waiting for Godot', each essay deftly illuminates aspects of Beckett's thinking and craft, making astute and often surprising discoveries along the way. In a series of beguiling discussions such as 'From Dada to Didi: Beckett and the Art of His Century', 'Beckett's Devious Interventions, or Fun with Cube Roots' and 'The Seated Figure on Beckett's Stage', Brater proves the perfect companion and commentator on Beckett's work, helping readers to approach it with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of the author's unique aesthetic. 
'An eloquent, witty and erudite collection of essays that illuminates Beckett's drama and prose fiction from a number of complementary perspectives. Brater's precise explication of the interwoven tropes of language and mise-en-scène is combined with a fine grasp of the overarching structure of work ... to create a rich and suggestive series of reflections on Beckett's aesthetics.' - Robert Gordon, Professor of Drama, Goldsmiths, University of London

Ten Ways of Thinking About Samuel Beckett: The Falsetto of Reason (Diaries, Letters and Essays)

Methuen Drama

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brater, Enoch. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Brater, Enoch

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Brater, Enoch. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Beckett at 80/Beckett in Context

Beyond Minimalism: Beckett's Late Style in the Theater

Beyond Minimalism: Beckett's Late Style in the Theater

The Drama in the Text: Beckett's Late Fiction

Why Beckett

The Theatre: A Concise History (Third Edition) (World of Art)

The Theatre (World of Art)

The Essential Samuel Beckett: An Illustrated Biography, Revised Edition

Arthur Miller: A Playwright's Life and Works

Ten Ways of Thinking About Samuel Beckett: The Falsetto of Reason (Diaries, Letters and Essays)