Samuel Beckett and the Problem of Irishness [Hardcover]

Beckett's bilingual oeuvre has been approached from many angles, most of which stress its autonomy from understandings of Irishness emerging from the Irish Literary Revival. Emilie Morin shows that such autonomy is only apparent, and that Beckett's avant-garde practices remain bound to the exigencies that govern their very development.Preface Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction Beckett and the Irish Literary Revival Translation as Principle of Composition Representing Scarcity Writing Disappearance Conclusion Bibliography Endnotes Index

'Samuel Beckett and the Problem of Irishness deftly brings together scholarly erudition with theoretical sophistication in a strikingly original and judicious manner. Particularly impressive is the book's international reach, demonstrating an alertness to French and European contexts as well as the Irish one.'

- Ronan McDonald, Department of English and American Literature, University of Reading, UK

' drawing on unpublished material [Morin's] book contains many fascinating details that illuminate Beckett's attitude to Ireland. The strength of Morin's book lies in the fact that it does not allow one specific theoretical discourse to dominate, but allows a variety of approaches to enter into a dialogue with each other and with Beckett's texts an ambitious undertaking ' Mark Nixon, TLS

'... Morin seeks to expand the subject matter of previously published studies in the field by including some of Beckett's (unpublished) critical writings, his correspondence, the draft material of his texts, and the bilingual aspect of his writing. This refreshing expansion presents Samuel Beckett's Irish heritage as a creative and hermeneutic 'problem', affecting both the geneses and subsequent translations of his texts, as well as their critical reception and interpretation... a pleasure to read ...' - Pim Verhulst, Irish Studies Review

'Irishness ... provideló¾