A Beckett Canon (Theater: Theory/Text/Performance) - Softcover

Cohn, Ruby

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0472031317 ISBN 13: 9780472031313

Publisher: University of Michigan Press, 2005

Synopsis

Samuel Beckett is unique in literature. Born and educated in Ireland, he lived most of his life in Paris. His literary output was rendered in either English or French, and he often translated one to the other, but there is disagreement about the contents of his bilingual corpus. A Beckett Canon by renowned theater scholar Ruby Cohn offers an invaluable guide to the entire corpus, commenting on Beckett's work in its original language.

Beginning in 1929 with Beckett's earliest work, the book examines the variety of genres in which he worked: poems, short stories, novels, plays, radio pieces, teleplays, reviews, and criticism. Cohn grapples with the difficulties in Beckett's work, including the opaque erudition of the early English verse and fiction, and the searching depths and syntactical ellipsis of the late works.

Specialist and nonspecialist readers will find A Beckett Canon valuable for its remarkable inclusiveness. Cohn has examined the holdings of all of the major Beckett depositories, and is thus able to highlight neglected manuscripts and correct occasional errors in their listings. Intended as a resource to accompany the reading of Beckett's writing--in English or French, published or unpublished, in part or as a whole--the book offers context, information, and interpretation of the work of one of the last century's most important writers.

Ruby Cohn is Professor Emerita of Comparative Drama, University of California, Davis. She is author or editor of many books, including Anglo-American Interplay in Recent Drama; Retreats from Realism in Recent English Drama; From Desire to Godot; and Just Play: Beckett's Theater.

About this title

About the Author

The late Ruby Cohn (1922-2011) was Professor of Comparative Drama at the University of California, Davis. She was author or editor of over twenty books, including many influential volumes on the work of Samuel Beckett.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0472031317
• ISBN 13: 9780472031313
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432