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Bertolt Brecht: His Life, His Art, His Times
Highly acclaimed when it was first published in 1967, Frederic Ewen's monumental biographical study of Bertolt Brecht has long been out of print. In response to national demand, Citadel Press is proud to reissue this complete and unabridged text. Of "Bertolt His Life, His Art, His Times, the critics "The finest critical study of Brecht to date. This book is at least a worthy appreciation of a towering, poetic and dramatic genius." -Los Angeles Times "What is particularly striking about Frederic Ewen's biography is that it conveys the excitement, the turmoil and triumph of Brecht's career." -The New York Times "The great thing about Frederic Ewen's luminous biography is that it gently frees Brecht from the bear hugs of the bigots and restores him to us as a whole man, his youth contained in his age." -The Nation
592 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 29, 2017
Rounded up, this Life is more of an analysis of Brecht's work and the milieu within which he operated than any sort of chronicle of his life. His upbringing is vague as is his conscription, his transformation from vaudevillian to humanist, much less a politicized is likewise left opaque.
This is a messy biography but one littered with quotes, it particularly leans on the collected poetry-- which I finished earlier this year. I did enjoy the anecdote of Brecht being investigated by the HCUAC during his exile in the US, with an apparent taciturn Richard Nixon being involved in hermeneutic thumb twiddling.
Apparently just before his death Brecht was annotating his copy of Waiting For Godot. How cool would that have been?
This is a messy biography but one littered with quotes, it particularly leans on the collected poetry-- which I finished earlier this year. I did enjoy the anecdote of Brecht being investigated by the HCUAC during his exile in the US, with an apparent taciturn Richard Nixon being involved in hermeneutic thumb twiddling.
Apparently just before his death Brecht was annotating his copy of Waiting For Godot. How cool would that have been?
August 11, 2021
The first 200 pages were 5-stars.
The last 200 pages were 2-stars.
The last 200 pages were 2-stars.
December 16, 2014
I can't remember the last time that I read a book this long. Maybe I haven't.
I knew very little of Brecht at the outset of reading the book. I had heard of some of his work (Three Penny Opera, Mother Courage, et. al) but I had not seen or read any of it. I went into the biography with a complete and open mind.
Brecht as an artist was astounding. He had no formal training (probably for the best) and all the choices that he made were based off of instinct and trial-and-error. He had a clear vision and worked tirelessly to articulate it.
There is something romantic about the era that he lived in. Even with the dark cloud of the rise of the Nazis, the idea of getting drunk off of red wine and smoking cigars, arguing late into the evening. Something that we're scared of doing nowadays. Ewen does a good job putting the things that Brecht wrote and spoke on in context.
The trouble with the biography of an artist is that the author has to shift seamlessly between the objective and the subjective. Ewen comes across better as a historian than he does a judge of artistic merit. When something is good, he will glow about it and mention none of the flaws. Nothing is without flaws, especially in theater (I cite Hamlet has an example). However, if something Brecht did poorly, it was usually listed as "not well-received" or that Brecht had a good idea but didn't communicate it properly.
The subtitle of the book is "His Life, His Art, His Times" and I felt that the book did a lot more to talk about his life and times than the art. Not that it was ignored but talking about the synopsis of a play doesn't seem to be sufficient. Dedicating a brief chapter on "epic theatre" doesn't seem to be enough when you're talking about Brecht (it is the one thing that I knew about before reading the book.)
I did enjoy the book, however, but would only recommend it if someone had an interest in Brecht, not so much the art that he created.
I knew very little of Brecht at the outset of reading the book. I had heard of some of his work (Three Penny Opera, Mother Courage, et. al) but I had not seen or read any of it. I went into the biography with a complete and open mind.
Brecht as an artist was astounding. He had no formal training (probably for the best) and all the choices that he made were based off of instinct and trial-and-error. He had a clear vision and worked tirelessly to articulate it.
There is something romantic about the era that he lived in. Even with the dark cloud of the rise of the Nazis, the idea of getting drunk off of red wine and smoking cigars, arguing late into the evening. Something that we're scared of doing nowadays. Ewen does a good job putting the things that Brecht wrote and spoke on in context.
The trouble with the biography of an artist is that the author has to shift seamlessly between the objective and the subjective. Ewen comes across better as a historian than he does a judge of artistic merit. When something is good, he will glow about it and mention none of the flaws. Nothing is without flaws, especially in theater (I cite Hamlet has an example). However, if something Brecht did poorly, it was usually listed as "not well-received" or that Brecht had a good idea but didn't communicate it properly.
The subtitle of the book is "His Life, His Art, His Times" and I felt that the book did a lot more to talk about his life and times than the art. Not that it was ignored but talking about the synopsis of a play doesn't seem to be sufficient. Dedicating a brief chapter on "epic theatre" doesn't seem to be enough when you're talking about Brecht (it is the one thing that I knew about before reading the book.)
I did enjoy the book, however, but would only recommend it if someone had an interest in Brecht, not so much the art that he created.
February 20, 2025
really fantastic study.
going to paste a few poems which are printed here below, the first of which does not appear in the standard collected English:
When I was carrying you in my womb,
things were not going well for us at all
and I often said: the one I am carrying
is coming into a bad world.
And I said to myself, you must see to it
That he at least makes no mistake,
The boy I’m carrying must see to it,
That the world is a better place.
And I saw mountains of coal with a fence around them.
I said: don’t be miserable! The one I am carrying
will make sure that this coal warms him.
And I saw bread behind windows
and it was denied to the hungry.
The one I am carrying, I said, will make sure
that this bread feeds him.
When I was carrying you in my womb, I often said quietly to myself:
“You, the one I am carrying in my womb,
you must be unstoppable.”
[...]
Recently I found my spectator.
On a dusty street
He held a power-drill in his fist.
For a brief moment he looked up. And I quickly
Pitched my theatre between the houses. He
looked up expectantly.
In the bar
I found him again. He stood at the counter
Sweat-stained; he was drinking, in his hand
A sandwich. Quickly I pitched my theatre. He
Looked up amazed.
Today
Luck was with me again.
In front of the railway depot
I saw him jostled by rifle-butts
Amid drum-beats – being hustled into war.
Right there, in the middle of the crowd,
I pitched my theatre. Over his shoulder
He looked back towards me:-
And nodded.
[...]
When years ago, studying the goings-on on the Chicago wheat exchange
I suddenly understood how the world’s wheat was administered.
Yet, at the same time, failed to understanding – and put down the book,
I saw at once:
You’ve hit upon something bad…
There was no bitterness in me, nor was I terrified
By the injustice – only I thought and I thought –
That’s not the way. No, not the way they’re doing it…
These people, I saw, lived from the harm
They do to others, instead of the good.
A situation that can only continue to exist
Through crime; bad for most human beings.
So every achievement of reason,
Invention and discovery
Must lead to ever greater misery.
Such and the like were my thoughts at that moment,
Far removed from anger or lamentation,
As I put down the book describing
The wheat market and the exchanges of Chicago…
Great pain and discontent were in store for me.
going to paste a few poems which are printed here below, the first of which does not appear in the standard collected English:
When I was carrying you in my womb,
things were not going well for us at all
and I often said: the one I am carrying
is coming into a bad world.
And I said to myself, you must see to it
That he at least makes no mistake,
The boy I’m carrying must see to it,
That the world is a better place.
And I saw mountains of coal with a fence around them.
I said: don’t be miserable! The one I am carrying
will make sure that this coal warms him.
And I saw bread behind windows
and it was denied to the hungry.
The one I am carrying, I said, will make sure
that this bread feeds him.
When I was carrying you in my womb, I often said quietly to myself:
“You, the one I am carrying in my womb,
you must be unstoppable.”
[...]
Recently I found my spectator.
On a dusty street
He held a power-drill in his fist.
For a brief moment he looked up. And I quickly
Pitched my theatre between the houses. He
looked up expectantly.
In the bar
I found him again. He stood at the counter
Sweat-stained; he was drinking, in his hand
A sandwich. Quickly I pitched my theatre. He
Looked up amazed.
Today
Luck was with me again.
In front of the railway depot
I saw him jostled by rifle-butts
Amid drum-beats – being hustled into war.
Right there, in the middle of the crowd,
I pitched my theatre. Over his shoulder
He looked back towards me:-
And nodded.
[...]
When years ago, studying the goings-on on the Chicago wheat exchange
I suddenly understood how the world’s wheat was administered.
Yet, at the same time, failed to understanding – and put down the book,
I saw at once:
You’ve hit upon something bad…
There was no bitterness in me, nor was I terrified
By the injustice – only I thought and I thought –
That’s not the way. No, not the way they’re doing it…
These people, I saw, lived from the harm
They do to others, instead of the good.
A situation that can only continue to exist
Through crime; bad for most human beings.
So every achievement of reason,
Invention and discovery
Must lead to ever greater misery.
Such and the like were my thoughts at that moment,
Far removed from anger or lamentation,
As I put down the book describing
The wheat market and the exchanges of Chicago…
Great pain and discontent were in store for me.
January 8, 2023
Really interesting anecdotes on Brecht and his life, but a dry, and at times, unorganized read. The author takes great pains to incorporate quotations from various contemporaries and collaborators of Brecht, and paints a picture of his creative life, but very little analysis and incorporation of Brecht's political life and allegiances; however, the beginning chapters which give context of the political and culture background and buildup to Brecht's time.
This book is not for the casual reader.
This book is not for the casual reader.
February 11, 2021
Me pareció muy buena biografía de Bertolt Brecht porque abarca extractos de su vasta obra teatral, detalles de su vida íntima y ejemplos de su fuerte compromiso político hacia el proletariado. A él lo considero un gran artista, cuya vida fue plasmada bellamente en este libro digno de releerse cada cierto tiempo.
March 27, 2019
Ricco di particolari, adatto se si vuole fare una tesi su Brecht o su una sua opera
Currently reading
January 5, 2011About to pick up this play today took a look at the first page and it seems interesting.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews