{"product_id":"9781408155622","title":"Bertolt Brecht: A Literary Life","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eBertolt Brecht: A Literary Life\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Stephen Parker\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis first English language biography of Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) in two decades paints a strikingly new picture of one of the twentieth century's most controversial cultural icons.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Drawing on letters, diaries and unpublished material, including Brecht's medical records, Parker offers a rich and enthralling account of Brecht's life and work, viewed through the prism of the artist.  Tracing his extraordinary life, from his formative years in Augsburg, through the First World War, his politicisation during the Weimar Republic and his years of exile, up to the Berliner Ensemble's dazzling productions in Paris and London, Parker shows how Brecht achieved his transformative effect upon world theatre and poetry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003eBertolt Brecht: A Literary Life\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful portrait of a great, compulsively contradictory personality, whose artistry left its lasting imprint on modern culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“...Stephen Parker's masterly biography of Brecht, the first in twenty years. It is an astonishing tour de force based on impressive scholarship. For once the subtitle, 'A Literary Life', is apposite, for, as the complex strands of Brecht's life are revealed, we never forget that he is above all a writer. He speaks to us not only through letters and pronouncements but also through his poetry, abundantly quoted by Parker throughout the book.” —\u003ci\u003eDonald Sassoon, Literary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Stephen Parker powerfully evokes Brecht's life within a set of historical circumstances, without sacrificing the complexity of one to the other, in 'Bertolt Brecht: A Literary Life'... Parker strikes a delicate balance between the historical events and the more temperamental qualities of Brecht's that informed his writing, be it his lifelong inability to temper his sexual appetite or manage his frail body. In particular, Parker emphasizes the latter in the way that Brecht's writings, even at his most Leninist moments, revolve around a feeling of bodily precarity and appetite-driven excess. Parker's success is the caution and deliberateness with which he traces Brecht's multifaceted, contradictory personality and artistic corpus.... succeeds remarkably in animating the world of political instability and terror that Brecht lived through, where the failure of the Left to coalesce enabled the rise of Fascism.” —\u003ci\u003eCosmo Pappas, The Michigan Daily\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“An ambitious new biography, \u003ci\u003eBertolt Brecht: A Literary Life\u003c\/i\u003e, arrives twenty years after the last full-length biography was published in English. Stephen Parker, the Simon Chair of German Studies at the University of Manchester, has sifted through Brecht's prodigious writings--plays, poems, diaries, journalism, lectures, letters, and notes--as well as the work of his contemporaries, the colleagues and the adversaries. The references to secondary sources--Brecht is among the most-written about authors in 20th-century literature -- are also a strength of this book.... In the chapters concerning Brecht's childhood, [Bertolt Brecht:] A Literary Life is articulate and authoritative.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Rumpus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Few biographies are as instructive.” —Anthony Daniels, \u003ci\u003eThe New Criterion\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“... the research and presentation of Bertolt Brecht's life is thorough and meticulous.” —\u003ci\u003eLooking for a Good Book\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The book reflects not only an impressive knowledge and understanding of Brecht’s life, but also Parker’s ability to find biographical moments which, he convincingly argues, fundamentally shaped important ideas in Brecht’s thought and work, ranging from aesthetic notions to everyday behaviour... With admirable discernment, Parker reveals such connections not only as merely possible, but as entirely natural; indeed, many of these insights should prove enlightening even to those readers already closely familiar both with Brecht’s biographical details and the intricacies of his work. In addition, Parker’s unique approach allows him to compellingly argue the importance of various works by Brecht that have generally been neglected the scholarly attention they deserve. Within the new context of Parker’s biography, these works receive new meaning and significance. For this, Parker certainly deserves our gratitude... Parker’s work should quickly establish its position as an authoritative and essential addition to Brecht scholarship.” - \u003ci\u003eStudies in 20th \u0026amp; 21st Century Literature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In \u003ci\u003eBERTOLT BRECHT: A LITERARY LIFE\u003c\/i\u003e, Stephen Parker places the playwright in proper perspective. … [bringing] to the table new data, including information from previously withheld medical documents.” –Charles Lupia, \u003ci\u003eOnStage\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In Parker’s impressively sourced account, Brecht’s ensuing fight for more freedom, organizing of progressive forces, and eventual triumph over party wonks is nothing short of thrilling.” - Stacey Connelly, Trinity University,\u003ci\u003e Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Parker’s biography is a valuable work. It is honest and meticulous. … A highly readable and stimulating opener to the debate.” -Sybille Fuchs\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLong-listed The Guardian (UK) Best Books of the Year (2015)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781408155622\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Methuen Drama","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40595346555086,"sku":"9781408155622","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781408155622","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}