A Companion to Samuel Beckett

Irish writer, dramatist, and poet Samuel Beckett is widely recognized as one of the most important literary figures of our time. In 2006 the numerous worldwide events celebrating the centenary of Beckett′s birth were a striking testament to the importance of his works. These events served also as confirmation of the Nobel Prize–winning author′s continued relevance in the 21st century. In fact, an intense proliferation of new international scholarship has led to a complete reassessment of Beckett’s thoughts and works. Taking full advantage of this recent growth in Beckett studies, and its accompanying wealth of newly released archival sources, A Companion to Samuel Beckett provides a comprehensive critical reappraisal of the literary works of Samuel Beckett. Informed by the latest theoretical debates, this important new volume features a collection of original essays by a distinguished team of leading Beckett scholars, including two highly regarded biographers. Authoritative and insightful, the Companion is a valuable addition to contemporary Beckett scholarship.

Notes on Contributors viii Acknowledgments xiv Introduction 1 S. E. Gontarski Part I A Life in Letters 11 1 A Writer’s Homes – A Writer’s Life 13 James Knowlson 2 Within a Budding Grove: Publishing Beckett in America 23 S. E. Gontarski 3 Samuel Beckett and Waiting for Godot 32 Lois Gordon 4 Beginning to End: Publishing and Producing Beckett 48 Barney Rosset Part II Charting Territories 61 5 A Critique of Aesthetic Judgment: Beckett’s “Dissonance of Ends and Means” 63 John Pilling 6 The Legacy of Samuel Beckett: An Anatomy 73 H. Porter Abbott 7 Beckett and Philosophy 84 Anthony Uhlmann 8 Philosophizing with Beckett: Adorno and Badiou 97 Jean–Michel Rabaté 9 Beckett and Ethics 118 Shane Weller 10 Beckett and Germany in the 1930s: The Development of a Poetics 130 Mark Nixon 11 Samuel Beckett and Science 143 C. J. Ackerley 12 A Purgatorial Calculus: Beckett’s Mathematics in “Quad” 164 Brett Stevens 13 Beckett and Obsessional Ireland 182 David Pattie 14 Beckett in French and English 196 Sinéad Mooney Part III Acts of Fiction 209 15 Beckett the Poet 211 Marjorie Perloff 16 The “Dream” Poems: Poems in Personae 228 Sean Lawlor 17 Figures of Script: The Development of Beckett’s Short Prose and the “Aesthetic of Inaudibilities” 244 Dirk Van Hulle 18 Molloy, or Life without a Chambermaid 263 Patrick A. McCarthy 19 Malone Dies: Postmodernist Masculinity 275 Susan Mooney 20 “The Knowing Non–Exister”: Thirteen Ways of Reading Texts for Nothing 289 S. E. Gontarski and C. J. Ackerley 21 What We Are Given to Mean: Endgame 296 Paul Shields 22 “In the Old Style,” Yet Anew: Happy Days in the “AfterBeckett” 308 William Hutchings Part IV Acts of Performance 327 23 Beckett’s Production of Waiting for Godot (Warten auf Godot) 329 David Bradby 24 The Seated Figure on Beckett’s Stage 346 Enoch Brater 25 Clowning with Beckett 358 Mary Bryden 26 “Down, all going down ...”: The Spiral Structure of Beckett’s Theater 372 Xerxes Mehta 27 Beckett on Television 389 Graley Herren 28 Staging Beckett in Spain: Theater and Politics 403 Antonia Rodríguez–Gago Index 416

S. E. Gontarski is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English at Florida State University where he edits the Journal of Beckett Studies and serves as Director of Graduate Studies. He has published extensively on the life and works of Samuel Beckett, including (with Anthony Uhlmann) Beckett after Beckett (2006), a finalist for the Theatre Library Association′s George Freedley Award.

“In this way, A Companion to Samuel Beckett will indeed be a useful companion and addition to Beckett studies.”  ( The Beckett Circle , 1 October 2012) "This aside, A Companion to Samuel Beckett has much to offer Beckett enthusiasts. The volume as a whole is, indeed, a companion to the centenary celebrations and promises to be one of those collections that will remain important for years to come." (Review of Literature (Weiss), 2010) "This collection contains some fine individual essays that will be of worth to both new and experienced readers of Beckett′s work . . . The latter part of the book is strong on Beckett in performance, in various media, while a remarkable outlier by mathematician Brett Stevens shows that English, French and German are not the only languages to yield a rewarding close reading in Beckett." (Routledge ABES, 2011) "Coming from a theatre background personally, and the fact that Waiting for Godot is one of my favourite pieces, this book was one of the most exciting and interesting collection of research I have ever had the pleasure of reading.  Take the time and immerse yourself in it, it will give you a new perspective on Beckett when you go back to re–read any of his works." ( M/C Reviews , November 2010)