The International Reception of Samuel Beckett

by Nixon, Mark; Feldman, Matthew

• ISBN13: 9780826495815
• ISBN10: 0826495818
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-07-07
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

This comprehensive volume brings together essays from leading critics on Samuel Beckett's international critical reception. Due to his linguistic and artistic abilities, Beckett was intimately involved in the translation and production of his writings in German, French English and Spanish; and consequently countries using these languages have sophisticated critical traditions. However, many other countries have adopted Beckett at their 'own', from places where he lived for lengthy periods of his life (England, France, Ireland and Germany), to those finding directly applicable political messages in his work (such as ex-Soviet states including the Czech Republic and Romania), and those countries whose national literary traditions bear heavily upon his work (e.g. Italy). This fascinating volume reveals Beckett's evolving critical reception from contemporary reviews to his present. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Mark Nixon is Lecturer in English at the University of Reading, UK, where he is the Co-Director of the Beckett International Foundation. Matthew Feldman is Lecturer in Twentieth Century History at the University of Northampton, UK.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Notes on Contributors	p. x
Introduction: 'Getting Known' - Samuel Beckett's International Reception	p. 1
The Business of Being Beckett: Beckett's Reception in the USA	p. 9
Beckett among the Philosophes: The Critical Reception of Samuel Beckett in France	p. 24
Beckett's Reception in Great Britain	p. 40
Samuel Beckett's Reception in Ireland	p. 55
The Reception of Beckett's Theatre and Television Pieces in West and East Germany	p. 75
Shades of Negativity and Self-Reflexivity: The Reception of Beckett in German literary Studies	p. 97
Samuel Beckett's Reception in Australia and New Zealand	p. 108
The Reception of Samuel Beckett in China	p. 129
The Reception of Samuel Beckett in Japan	p. 147
Samuel Beckett and Poland	p. 163
Samuel Beckett in the Low Countries	p. 188
Thinking of 'a Rhyme for "Euganean"?: Beckett in Italy	p. 209
Beckett's Nordic Reception	p. 234
Samuel Beckett behind the Iron Curtain: The Reception in Eastern Europe	p. 251
A Long Time Coming: The Critical Response to Samuel Beckett in Spain and Portugal	p. 272
Index	p. 291
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