Mel Gussow, the longtime drama critic for The New York Times, has put together a revelatory book of conversations with the famously reticent author and his chief collaborators. In this revealing and poignant collection, Gussow paints a portrait of Samuel Beckett, the novelist and playwright whose body of work is unmatched for its intensity and cohesiveness. Although Beckett never allowed an interview, he did talk informally with Gussow over a ten-year period. Conversations with and about Beckett includes those encounters, with talk of actors, directors, the general state of the theater, art, life -- and tennis. The conversations, previously unpublished, show the reputedly austere author as modest, humorous, and open-minded but always precise and revealing about his own work, which he discusses with great acuity.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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Veteran New York Times drama critic Mel Gussow enjoyed direct access to the great Irish dramatist, meeting with him a number of times over the course of a decade. The heart of this collection of essays are revealing remembrances of Gussow's conversations with Beckett. Also included are interviews with Jack McGowran and Billie Whitelaw, great performers of Beckett's work, and a collection of Gussow's critical writing on Beckett. Conversations with and about Beckett is a small book with remarkable depth.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent insight to Sam Beckett and a must for everyone,
By A Customer
This review is from: Conversations With and About Beckett (Hardcover)
i know more about radishes than i do of mans destiny...you have to read this book if you ever felt like you wanted to hear little anecdotes on Sam .It really is a lovely read and shows how private a being he was.I would love to hear his voice someday. RIP.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
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Getting to know Beckett,
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This review is from: Conversations with and About Beckett (Paperback)
I had recently seen a production of "Waiting for Godot." It had been many years since I'd seen one and I was reminded, again, of the brilliance of Beckett's play. During my university days, Beckett was one of many playwright's included in a syllabus of noted theatre writers. I didn't, however, know much about Beckett himself. I enjoyed Mel Gussow's "Conversations with and about Beckett " immensely which gives the reader the opportunity to learn something of Beckett the man and the writer. Through the interview question and answer format, the author gives us a glimpse behind the austere facade with which Beckett is usually perceived. The reader begins to see the man as a simple yet complex individual, one with a gentle warmth and quiet sense of humor. After reading Gussow's book I was inspired to continue learning more about Beckett's life. Gussow gives his reader's a highly engrossing study of a playwright of masterful and powerful theatre.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Bert Lahr was acting in Aristophanes' The Birds in Ypsilanti, Michigan, playing the founder of Cloudcuckooland. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
last tape Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Billie Whitelaw, Happy Days, Lincoln Centre, David Warrilow, Royal Court, Samuel Beckett, Bill Irwin, Nobel Prize, Deborah Warner, Patrick Magee, All That Fall, Krapp's Last Tape, Mabou Mines, Mike Nichols, United States, Alan Schneider, Buster Keaton, Edward Beckett, Martin Segal, Robin Williams, Barney Rosset, Dustin Hoffman, Finnegans Wake, Gregory Mosher New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Bert Lahr was acting in Aristophanes' The Birds in Ypsilanti, Michigan, playing the founder of Cloudcuckooland. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
last tape Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Billie Whitelaw, Happy Days, Lincoln Centre, David Warrilow, Royal Court, Samuel Beckett, Bill Irwin, Nobel Prize, Deborah Warner, Patrick Magee, All That Fall, Krapp's Last Tape, Mabou Mines, Mike Nichols, United States, Alan Schneider, Buster Keaton, Edward Beckett, Martin Segal, Robin Williams, Barney Rosset, Dustin Hoffman, Finnegans Wake, Gregory Mosher New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 45
books:
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7
books
cite this book:
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- Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts by Samuel Beckett on 39 pages
- Happy Days by Samuel Beckett on 11 pages
- Mercier and Camier by Samuel Beckett on 5 pages
- Imagination Dead Imagine by Samuel Beckett on 4 pages
- The lost ones (An Evergreen original E-587) by Samuel Beckett on 4 pages
See all 45 books this book cites
- Conversations with Miller by Mel Gussow in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- You Can Write a Play! (Applause Books) by Milton E. Polsky in Back Matter
- Memory and Narrative: The Weave of Life-Writing by James Olney on page 243
- Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot: A Reference Guide by William Hutchings in Back Matter
- Memory and Narrative: The Weave of Life-Writing by James Olney on page 243
See all 7 books citing this book
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