Book contents
- Bertolt Brecht in Context
- Bertolt Brecht in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figure
- Notes on Contributors
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- A Note on Brecht in English
- Introduction
- Part I Brecht’s World
- Part II Brecht’s Work
- Part III The World’s Brecht
- Chapter 23 Brecht and Feminism
- Chapter 24 Brecht in Southern Africa
- Chapter 25 Brecht in the Creation, Production, and Analysis of Opera Today
- Chapter 26 Brecht and His Biographers
- Chapter 27 Brecht Editions
- Chapter 28 Brecht and German Studies
- Chapter 29 Beginning Where Brecht Left Off: Heiner Müller and Brecht’s Legacy
- Chapter 30 Bertolt Brecht in Brazil
- Chapter 31 World Spirit versus Spirit of the Age: Brecht’s Impact and Influence on East German Literature and Culture
- Chapter 32 Brecht in Fiction
- Chapter 33 Brecht and Contemporary Experimental Theater
- Chapter 34 Brecht and US Actor Training
- Chapter 35 Brecht and Transcultural Theater
- Chapter 36 Thinking Brecht in(to) the University
- Chapter 37 “Shrunk in Translation” or: The (Ir)resistible Rise of the Old Traduttore/Traditore Tradition …
- Concise Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 26 - Brecht and His Biographers
from Part III - The World’s Brecht
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 May 2021
- Bertolt Brecht in Context
- Bertolt Brecht in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figure
- Notes on Contributors
- Chronology
- Abbreviations
- Preface
- A Note on Brecht in English
- Introduction
- Part I Brecht’s World
- Part II Brecht’s Work
- Part III The World’s Brecht
- Chapter 23 Brecht and Feminism
- Chapter 24 Brecht in Southern Africa
- Chapter 25 Brecht in the Creation, Production, and Analysis of Opera Today
- Chapter 26 Brecht and His Biographers
- Chapter 27 Brecht Editions
- Chapter 28 Brecht and German Studies
- Chapter 29 Beginning Where Brecht Left Off: Heiner Müller and Brecht’s Legacy
- Chapter 30 Bertolt Brecht in Brazil
- Chapter 31 World Spirit versus Spirit of the Age: Brecht’s Impact and Influence on East German Literature and Culture
- Chapter 32 Brecht in Fiction
- Chapter 33 Brecht and Contemporary Experimental Theater
- Chapter 34 Brecht and US Actor Training
- Chapter 35 Brecht and Transcultural Theater
- Chapter 36 Thinking Brecht in(to) the University
- Chapter 37 “Shrunk in Translation” or: The (Ir)resistible Rise of the Old Traduttore/Traditore Tradition …
- Concise Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This article examines the key biographies of Bertolt Brecht that have appeared since Brecht’s death in 1956, exploring the way that Cold War politics helped to determine how Brecht was seen in Germany and the English-speaking world.Whereas left-leaning and socialist biographers tended to admire and praise Brecht, anti-communist and anti-socialist biographers condemned him for his revolutionary politics and leftist commitments.The 1970s and 1980s witnessed renewed interest and admiration for Brecht even in the capitalist West; however, after the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of Germany in 1990, renewed recriminations against communism and socialism led to further attacks on Brecht and his legacy, culminating in John Fuegi’s 1994 biography Brecht and Company: Sex, Politics, and the Making of the Modern Drama. In more recent times, however, ongoing problems with globalization and capitalism have led to a renewed appreciation for and heightened interest in Brecht, his life, and his works.
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- Bertolt Brecht in Context , pp. 226 - 232Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021