Bertolt Brecht: Poems 1913-1956 [Paperback]

Bertolt Brecht (Author), John Willett (Editor), Ralph Manheim (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0878300724 | ISBN-13: 978-0878300723 | Publication Date: October 7, 1997

"...this impressive selection of Bertolt Brecht's poetry...roughly 500 poems...shows convincingly that his ouevre is one of the major poetic achievements of the present century. The editing, with excellent notes, excerpts from Brecht's own views about poetry and Mr. Willett's concise introduction is exemplary. Most important, the translations by 35 poets, among them H.R. Hayes, Peter Levi, Christopher Middleton, and Naomi Replansky, maintain a high standard of accuracy and often convey a very clear idea of the texture and feeling of the German." --Stephen Spender,The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Review

The beauty of Poems 1913-1956 is that the reader is privy to the creative evolution of a master; it allows the observation of mistakes, imagined or real, on the authors part, and consequently makes for a richer reading experience.
–Rain Taxi

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 564 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (October 7, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878300724
• ISBN-13: 978-0878300723
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,882,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brecht's poetry may be greater than his plays., June 16, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Bertolt Brecht: Poems, 1913-1956 (Pts.1-3) (Paperback)

Bertolt Brecht has acquired the same status as those other artists whose work is known, but not appreciated. Like Faulkner, Joyce and Proust, he has become transmuted into an adjective; even worse, he has followers who describe themselves as "Brechtian" and who are happy to discuss his theories of drama instead of the dramas themselves. But things get even worse when you get closer to the man himself, for there is a wealth of evidence that "der arme B.B." was, in fact, a conscienceless thief who stole credit from everyone with whom he worked and, in particular, from the women he charmed into professional and emotional liaisons. Add to this his craven attitude towards Stalin, and his theories of epic theater seem to be, at the very least, a gross exercise in self-deception. All very off-putting. But his poetry is a different matter. Brecht approaches the reader without the arrogance of a theorist interested in instructing the audience how to think. He is more candid, both personally and politically, willing to condemn his own weaknesses and, in his later years, those of the movement that he had defended at any cost. And, most importantly, his poetry is fresh, direct, cutting and beautiful, even in translation. This is a volume that those who are interested in writing poetry should have.

13 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant poems, August 16, 2000

By 

Joshua Wood - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bertolt Brecht: Poems 1913-1956 (Paperback)

These poems are brilliant and inspiring because they were written by a socialist. They were written to make you think about the system.

Questions by a Worker Who Reads is one of my favourite poems. The freeways, offices, electricity system and everything else in our civilization were not built by politicians or company executives - they were built by workers.