Beckett at Sixty: A Festschrift

Calder, John

Calder & Boyars

Increasingly Samuel Beckett’s writing is seen as the culmination of the great literature of the twentieth century – succeeding the work of Proust, Joyce and Kafka. Beckett is a writer whose relevance to his time and use of poetic imagery can be compared to Shakespeare’s in the late Renaissance. John Calder has examined the work of Beckett principally for what it has to say about our time in terms of philosophy, theology and ethics, and he points to aspects of his subject’s thinking that others have ignored or preferred not to see. Samuel Beckett’s acute mind pulled apart with courage and much humour the basic assumptions and beliefs by which most people live. His satire can be biting and his wit devastating. He found no escape from human tragedy in the comforts we build to shield ourselves from reality – even in art, which for most intellectuals has replaced religion. However, he did develop a moral message – one which is in direct contradiction to the values of ambition, success, acquisition and security which is normally held up for admiration, and he looks at the greed, God-worship, and cruelty to others which we increasingly take for granted, in a way that is both unconventional and revolutionary. If this study shocks many readers it is because the honesty, the integrity and the depth of Beckett’s thinking – expressed through his novels, plays and poetry, but also through his other writings and correspondence – is itself shocking, to conventional thinking. Yet what he has to say is also comforting. He offers a different ethic and prescription for living – a message based on stoic courage, compassion and an ability to understand and forgive.

The Philosophy of Samuel Beckett

Humor & Entertainment

Calder Publications

Increasingly Samuel Beckett’s writing is seen as the culmination of the great literature of the twentieth century – succeeding the work of Proust, Joyce and Kafka. Beckett is a writer whose relevance to his time and use of poetic imagery can be compared to Shakespeare’s in the late Renaissance. John Calder has examined the work of Beckett principally for what it has to say about our time in terms of philosophy, theology and ethics, and he points to aspects of his subject’s thinking that others have ignored or preferred not to see. Samuel Beckett’s acute mind pulled apart with courage and much humour the basic assumptions and beliefs by which most people live. His satire can be biting and his wit devastating. He found no escape from human tragedy in the comforts we build to shield ourselves from reality – even in art, which for most intellectuals has replaced religion. However, he did develop a moral message – one which is in direct contradiction to the values of ambition, success, acquisition and security which is normally held up for admiration, and he looks at the greed, God-worship, and cruelty to others which we increasingly take for granted, in a way that is both unconventional and revolutionary. If this study shocks many readers it is because the honesty, the integrity and the depth of Beckett’s thinking – expressed through his novels, plays and poetry, but also through his other writings and correspondence – is itself shocking, to conventional thinking. Yet what he has to say is also comforting. He offers a different ethic and prescription for living – a message based on stoic courage, compassion and an ability to understand and forgive.

Literature & Fiction

Calder Publications Ltd

Like all the greatest writers, Samuel Beckett was primarily interested in discovering the meaning and purpose of life and of the world into which we are born. Knowledgeable about the religion his family and education instilled in him, which as an adult he could neither accept nor reject, he used it extensively in his novels, plays and poetry. Beckett’s works also explored philosophy and the imaginative world of Dante and Milton, as well as the theories of Darwin and scientific speculation, in order to create a literature that investigates human destiny more deeply and originally than any other writer had done before. In this, his second book about the essence and depth of Samuel Beckett’s thinking and literary art, John Calder analyses the dualism of Beckett’s theological writing, his debt to the Gnostics, Manichaeism and Geulincx in particular, the presence of ghosts in his work, and why his late writing has received so little attention compared to the early and middle periods. It will open up the much underestimated Beckett to deeper understanding and provide enjoyment to the many who have become convinced that this once derided author is one of the major literary figures of his time.

The Theology of Samuel Beckett

In Defense of Literature is a Festschrift honouring John Calder's fifty years in publishing. It is a collection of essays, contributions and photos from those who know and understand the central role John Calder has played in the development of twentieth century literature.

In Defense of Literature: Fifty Years of Publishing, Literature, Politics and the Arts

Mosaic Press

A poignant memoir of the Paris literary scene in the 1950s and 1960s by one of its protagonists Some of last century's leading cultural figures are brought to life here, people who shaped our modern thinking and defined the tastes of an entire generation, changing forever the way we look at literature and the world around us. Drawing from the accounts of two fellow publishers—Maurice Girodias and Barney Rosset, who were also active in the heady days of 1950s and 1960s Paris, London, and New York—and from his own personal recollections, John Calder talks about the challenges of being a publisher in that era of censorship and political persecution and the problems faced by such writers as Beckett, Burroughs, Trocchi, and Miller to have their work accepted and recognized. Told in John Calder's trademark raconteur style and peppered with salacious, revealing, and entertaining anecdotes, this book will appeal both to the general reader and anyone who is interested in the social and cultural history of the 20th century.

The Garden of Eros: The Story of the Paris Expatriates and the Post-War Literary Scene

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

A poignant memoir of the Paris literary scene in the 1950s and 1960s by one of its protagonists Some of last century's leading cultural figures are brought to life here, people who shaped our modern thinking and defined the tastes of an entire generation, changing forever the way we look at literature and the world around us. Drawing from the accounts of two fellow publishers—Maurice Girodias and Barney Rosset, who were also active in the heady days of 1950s and 1960s Paris, London, and New York—and from his own personal recollections, John Calder talks about the challenges of being a publisher in that era of censorship and political persecution and the problems faced by such writers as Beckett, Burroughs, Trocchi, and Miller to have their work accepted and recognized. Told in John Calder's trademark raconteur style and peppered with salacious, revealing, and entertaining anecdotes, this book will appeal both to the general reader and anyone who is interested in the social and cultural history of the 20th century.

The Garden of Eros

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Joggins Fossil Cliffs offer an unprecedented glimpse into the Earth's history. Bearing fossils of organisms from the lush, tropical forests that existed in the Coal Age — when the continents were assembled into one huge land mass or supercontinent, Pangea — Joggins traces, through layers of sediment, the massive environmental and geologic shifts that have occurred in the planet in the intervening millennia. From fossilized trees that stood thirty metres high to the remains of the earliest known reptile, Hylonomus lyelli, Joggins holds important information about the development of life on Earth — including offering lessons about human impacts on the environment.
The Cliffs also share a story of human tenacity and rigorous debate on historical theories of evolution. Sir Charles Lyell and Sir William Dawson, two early geologists who studied Joggins extensively, influenced Charles Darwin with their findings of early fossil remains, particularly hollow tree fauna. The extent of their research at the Joggins site remains unparalleled and significant to this day.
The book outlines these stories and more, including Mi'kmaq settlement of the area and the rise of the coal mining industry in the 19th century. It also shares the perspectives of Joggins residents today, and their efforts to preserve this globally significant location and the precious historical information it holds.

The Joggins Fossil Cliffs: Coal Age Galapagos

Science & Math

Biological Sciences

Formac

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

Books by Calder, John

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

Beckett at Sixty: A Festschrift

The Philosophy of Samuel Beckett

The Philosophy of Samuel Beckett

The Theology of Samuel Beckett

In Defense of Literature: Fifty Years of Publishing, Literature, Politics and the Arts

The Garden of Eros: The Story of the Paris Expatriates and the Post-War Literary Scene

The Garden of Eros

The Joggins Fossil Cliffs: Coal Age Galapagos