Bertolt Brecht

by Philip Glahn

A playwright, poet, and activist, Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) was known for his theory of the epic theater and his attempts to break down the division between high art and popular culture. He was also a committed Marxist who lived through two world wars and a global depression. Looking at Brecht’s life and works through his plays, stories, poems, and political essays, Philip Glahn illustrates how they trace a lifelong attempt to relate to the specific social, economic, and political circumstances of the early twentieth century.
 
Glahn reveals how Brecht upended the language and gestures of philosophers, beggars, bureaucrats, thieves, priests, and workers, using them as weapons in his work. Following Brecht through the Weimar Republic, Nazism, exile, and East German Socialism, Glahn argues that the writer’s own life became a production of history that illuminates an ongoing crisis of modern experience shaped by capitalism, nationalism, and visions of social utopia. Sharp, accessible, and full of pleasures, this concise biography will interest anyone who wishes to know about this pivotal modern dramatist.

Genres: Biography

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The life and work of a writer / activist are reviewed in this book.

Some parts were interesting, but I found the writing too dry / academic.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bertolt Brecht is an endlessly fascinating figure of the 20th century. He's an artist who hit the highs and the lows of culture, and mixed it up with Marxist theory and art. He has always been my favorite poet. I think because he uses the language (in the English translation) of the newspaper headline. He and Blaise Cendrars are so un-poetic, that it makes them extremely poetic - if that makes sense. I also find Brecht very clear-thinking writer, not that I always agreed with him, but I admire his intelligence and the way he looked at the world. And of course he was a proper bastard as well. For anyone who wants to dip their toes into the world of Brecht, the Philip Glahn critical biography is a worthy introduction to the world of Brecht. It's not complete, but it will make one want to go on - and read his plays, his diaries, and his poetry/lyrics. After all, he is the man who wrote "Mack the Knife!"

On a further note, I greatly admire this press that focuses on various individuals who had either an effect on aesthetic, culture and politics. The "Critical Lives" series published by Reaktion Books is always excellent. I have most of them and the one's I read are always excellent. Priced well, excellent design, and they match the write author with the perfect subject matter. In one word: essential.

[Andy Abramowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an engrossing and eminently readable book covering Brecht's work in the context of the first half of Germany's twentieth century. I knew nothing about Brecht, but casual readers and more serious students alike will find Glahn's text informative, astute, and thoughtfully rendered. An insightful and engaging read.