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Playwright Samuel Beckett is known for his postmodernist, absurdist and dark comedy writing. His work, including his most famous play 'Waiting for Godot,' is hard to grasp initially but reflected the post World War II era and his own worldview. Beckett had a complex life as a man and a writer. Listen to learn more about Samuel Beckett’s life and his plays.
Story Length: 10:43
© 2006 National Public Radio, Inc. Used with the permission of NPR. All rights reserved.
AIR DATE: 04/08/2006
November 29, 2014
3:12
When Jack Kerouac’s novel 'On the Road' was published in 1957 it shocked a generation of readers. The novel followed Kerouac’s travels and counterculture lifestyle. But it was the stream of consciousness style that set the literary world on its head and made it the anchor text for the Beat Generation. Kerouac didn’t always write this way; in fact his first novel didn’t have any spontaneous prose. What inspired Kerouac’s dramatic departure to stream of consciousness? Listen to learn more about his inspiration and the “holy grail of the Beat Generation.”
Read MoreNovember 30, 2013
3:59
American poet Sylvia Plath is well known for her work, her life and her death. Plath’s suicide in February 1963 shocked a generation of readers and writers, shining a light on the plight of women and mental illness. These are the topics that Plath had written about in her semi-autobiographical novel “The Bell Jar.” Fifty years after her dramatic death, Plath’s poetry lives on. Listen to learn more about the life of Sylvia Plath and the collection of poetry, “Ariel,” published after her death.
Read MoreNovember 11, 2013
7:20
William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” is a tragedy that wrestles with issues of power, ambition and madness. From witches and ghosts to murder, this classic tale has been staged for decades. A new rendition is set in a psychiatric institution and is played almost entirely by one actor, Alan Cumming. Listen to learn more about the original story and this unique adaptation.
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