Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (/ˈbɛkɪt/; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet, who lived in Paris for most of his adult life and wrote in both English and French. He is widely regarded as among the most influential writers of the 20th century.
Beckett's work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human existence, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour, and became increasingly minimalist in his later career. He is considered one of the last modernist writers, and one of the key figures in what Martin Esslin called the "Theatre of the Absurd."
Beckett was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his writing, which—in new forms for the novel and drama—in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation." He was elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1984.
Biography
Early life and education
The Becketts were members of the Anglican Church of Ireland. The family home, Cooldrinagh in the Dublin suburb of Foxrock, was a large house and garden complete with tennis court built in 1903 by Samuel's father, William. The house and garden, together with the surrounding countryside where he often went walking with his father, the nearby Leopardstown Racecourse, the Foxrock railway station and Harcourt Street station at the city terminus of the line, all feature in his prose and plays.
Latest News for: Samuel beckett
What We Are Reading Today: Parisian Lives by Deirdre Bair
Arab News 08 Dec 2019Waiting for … the reunion of two theatre greats in Beckett triple bill
The Observer 08 Dec 2019Brendan Rodgers’ reborn Leicester should not be overlooked in title race
The Observer 08 Dec 2019Brendan O'Connor: 'Why we're wrong to dismiss Dublin's white-water rapids'
Irish Independent 08 Dec 2019Weekly papers: Boat raised and an 'obscene' pay rise
BBC News 07 Dec 2019What James Joyce's bones and house tell us about Irish culture
RTE 06 Dec 2019Wonder Walls - Irish street art shines in new RTÉ documentary
RTE 06 Dec 2019I'm a Celebrity: Jeremy Clarkson says 'count me in' for future series
The Independent 06 Dec 2019What I've learned from 10,000 nights at the theatre
The Observer 04 Dec 2019Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo calls out BBC for ‘removing my name from history’
The Independent 04 Dec 2019Audiobooks predicted to overtake UK ebook sales in 2020
The Independent 02 Dec 2019Reflections on writing about the lives of Beckett, Beauvoir
Winston-Salem Journal
01 Dec 2019
- 1
- 2
- Next page »
Article Search
Most Viewed
