Samuel Beckett as World Literature

Description

The essays in this collection provide in-depth analyses of Samuel Beckett's major works in the context of his international presence and circulation, particularly the translation, adaptation, appropriation and cultural reciprocation of his oeuvre. A Nobel Prize winner who published and self-translated in both French and English across literary genres, Beckett is recognized on a global scale as a preeminent author and dramatist of the 20th century. Samuel Beckett as World Literature brings together a wide range of international contributors to share their perspectives on Beckett's presence in countries such as China, Japan, Serbia, India and Brazil, among others, and to flesh out Beckett's relationship with postcolonial literatures and his place within the 'canon' of world literature.

Thirthankar Chakraborty is Assistant Professor of English at the Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai, India. Juan Luis Toribio Vazquez is a lecturer in Spanish and Literature at Sam Sharpe Teachers College, Jamaica.

Amid the recalibrations of "Postcolonial" literature, with its apparent chronological marker, and 'Commonwealth' literature with its continued ties to the colonizer, Samuel Beckett as World Literature releases Beckett's oeuvre from the classic Hiberno-Franco tensions. This allows it to move across languages and literary fields - freed from the implications of political power and domination - and function as a transnational entity, situating it and him amid the writers without borders. This volume features acts of reading, translation and adaptation in something of a global, transnational context as a fresh approach to the very crowded field of Beckett Studies and the emerging field of World Literature. * S. E. Gontarski, Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English, Florida State University, USA, and author of Revisioning Beckett: Samuel Beckett's Decadent Turn (Bloomsbury, 2018) * Beckett's work, as this excellent collection reminds us, has always existed between cultures. This volume traces that complexity through Beckett's own writing, his work as a translator and the numerous cultural dialogues opened up by the reception of his prose and theatre. This is an invaluable addition to Beckett studies, and a timely reminder of the international impact and influence his work continues to exercise. * David Pattie, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Arts, University of Birmingham, UK, and author of Modern British Playwriting: The 1950s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations (2012) *