A Bertolt Brecht Reference Companion

This study surveys and assesses Brecht’s contribution to the arts. With the centennial of his birth approaching in 1998, Brecht’s controversial reception, particulary in the United States, is coming into clearer focus. A significant dramatist of the 20th century, Brecht has been viewed as a proponent of social change, an advocate of a just world defined in terms of socialism and a foe of capitalism. With the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the political and economic milieu of Europe has changed drastically, and socialist writers can now be studied from a fresh perspective. Contributors explore his innovative dramatic theory and theatrical practice. Though best known for his contributions to the stage, Brecht also wrote poetry and prose fiction, which are examined in this work. Brecht’s influence is also considered, with chapters on topics such as Brecht and film, the role of music in his works, feminist and marxist approaches to his writings, the problem of translating Brecht into English, and the reception and appropriation of his plays and dramatic theory in various countries. While the chapters are historical in focus, the contributors also demonstrate the continuing relevance of Brecht in general, and the Brechtian theatre of the 1990s.