Beckett's Art of Salvage: Writing and Material Imagination, 1932-1987

by Julie Bates

Overview

This innovative exploration of the recurring use of particular objects in Samuel Beckett's work is the first study of the material imagination of any single modern author. Across five decades of aesthetic and formal experimentation in fiction, drama, poetry and film, Beckett made substantial use of only fourteen objects - well-worn not only where they appear within his works but also in terms of their recurrence throughout his creative corpus. In this volume, Bates offers a striking reappraisal of Beckett's writing, with a focus on the changing functions and impact of this set of objects, and charts, chronologically and across media, the pattern of Beckett's distinctive authorial procedure. The volume's identification of the creative praxis that emerges as an 'art of salvage' offers an integrated way of understanding Beckett's writing, opens up new approaches to his work, and offers a fresh assessment of his importance and relevance today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108792554
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/20/2020
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	5.91(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Julie Bates is an Assistant Professor in the School of English at Trinity College, Dublin. Her research focuses on modern and contemporary literature and visual art, with a particular interest in experimental forms and material culture. She is a contributor to the Oxford Handbook of Modern Irish Theatre (2016). Her current research project, 'Pockets of Time', explores the use of worn materials to chart the passage of time on a personal scale in contemporary literature and visual art.

Table of Contents

1. Relics; 2. Heirlooms; 3. Props; 4. Treasure; Conclusion: Beckett's art of salvage.

Editorial Reviews

'… Beckett’s art of salvaging, an art which Bates makes a compelling case for as crucial to his creative imagination, in her thorough, nuanced and highly readable monograph.' Liam Harrison, Dublin Review of Books

From the Publisher