Biography
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet, who lived in France for the most of his adult life. Writing in English and French, Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1969, "for his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation."* His best-known play, En attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot) (1953) is a comic study of philosophical uncertainty, and, like much of his work, focuses on the absurdity of human existence. Beckett graduated from Dublin’s Trinity College in 1927 and settled in Paris, where he worked with James Joyce and published short stories and the novel Murphy (1938). During World War II, he joined the French Resistance and was eventually forced to leave Paris, but after the war he returned and wrote most of his important works, including Godot, the prose trilogy Molloy (1951), Malone Dies (Malone Meurt, 1951) and The Unnamable (L’Innommable, 1953), and the play Endgame (Fin de Partie, 1957). Never exactly mainstream, Beckett is widely recognized as one of the most important European writers of the 20th century for his influence on modern literature and for his ability to impress, shock and confound.
*The Nobel Prize in Literature 1969. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Wed. 13 May 2020. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1969/summary/>
Finding Aids
- Beckett resources at WUSTL by titleAn alphabetical list of main works by Beckett and the corresponding books, manuscripts, ephemera, etc. that Washington University's Department of Special Collections holds. (This is a work-in-progress--inquire with curator as well.)
- Samuel Beckett PapersThe Samuel Beckett Papers consists of manuscripts of much of the work Beckett produced during the 1960’s. Among the highlights of the Samuel Beckett Papers are the set of 16 drafts for the story “Bing.” As well as extensive groups of drafts for short pose pieces such as “Assez,” “Le Depeupler,” and “Imagination morte imaginez;” the heavily revised galley proof of the Olympia Press edition of the novel Watt; and the successive drafts for the one-act play, Play/Comedie.
The Samuel Beckett Papers also contains the correspondence between the bookseller, Henry Wenning, and Beckett, which spans 1960-1971. Wenning and Beckett developed a close friendship out of their initial business relationship. Their correspondence deals with a range of matters, from negotiations regarding the sale of manuscripts, Beckett’s remarks on works in progress, his opinions of various productions of his plays, to more personal comments concerning his attitude toward his work or toward life. - Samuel Beckett Ephemera CollectionNine playbills and one poster relating to productions of Samuel Beckett's plays. More ephemera and posters are cataloged separately.
- Samuel Beckett Posters CollectionTen posters relating to productions of Samuel Beckett's plays or celebrations. Located in oversize. More posters are cataloged separately.
- Rick Cluchey Collection of Waiting for Godot MaterialsConsists of three items: Waiting for Godot prompt book used for the landmark 1975 Berlin production at the Schiller-Theater that Beckett himself directed; Waiting for Godot prompt book directly reflecting the significant, Beckett-generated emendations the author made to the 1975 version; and a program for the 1965 production of Waiting for Godot at the Schiller-Theater.
- Ruby Cohn PapersConsists largely of manuscripts toward published and unpublished essays and lectures on Samuel Beckett by Cohn, one of the first major Beckett scholars.
- Raymond Federman PapersAnother important early Beckett scholar, and an avant garde writer in his own right (see his author listing in this guide), this large archive contains extensive research and scholarly materials on Beckett.
- Alexander Trocchi PapersA Scottish writer and editor who worked with Maurice Girodias at Olympia Press to publish the first edition of Beckett's novel Watt. Contains a letter from Beckett and to Beckett (from Trocchi) as well as mock-ups of the cover for Watt.
Cataloged Items
- Beckett as authorBooks, periodicals, posters, ephemera and other materials by or with content by Beckett.
- Beckett as subjectBooks, periodicals and other items with content about Beckett.
Digital Content
- Beckett on MLC50Correspondence, drafts, videos and more as part of the Modern Literature Collection's 50th anniversary digital exhibit
- Connecting Contexts: The Modern Literature Collection and The Letters of Samuel BeckettThis exhibit spotlights manuscript materials and published texts from the Modern Literature Collection and connects them with information and excerpts from The Letters of Samuel Beckett, the first comprehensive edition of Beckett’s letters.
- “If you could finish it…”: Beckett's Revisions and AutotranslationsFeatures scans from a number of Samuel Beckett’s original notebooks, manuscripts and typescripts in both English and French. These pieces offer fascinating insight into the evolution of Beckett’s works across multiple drafts and two languages.
- Samuel Beckett playlistModern Literature Collection's YouTube channel playlist with excerpts from "Beckett Directs Beckett" and "All That Fall."
Blog Posts
- Connecting Contexts: The Modern Literature Collection and The Letters of Samuel BeckettIntroduction to the "Connecting Contexts" digital exhibit.
- What is the Word: Celebrating Samuel Beckett – Day 1Summary of the first day of activities for the "What is the Word" Samuel Beckett colloquium at Washington University, November 7, 2019.
- What is the Word: Celebrating Samuel Beckett – Day 2Summary of the second day of activities for the "What is the Word" Samuel Beckett colloquium at Washington University, November 8, 2019.
- Samuel Beckett's Translation DraftsA look at selections of translation manuscripts and typescripts from the Samuel Beckett Papers.
Additional Resources (external links)
- Interactive Index to the Letters of Samuel BeckettIn the Interactive Index to the Letters of Samuel Beckett. Here you can find data on all Beckett letters held in public archives, such as their physical state and location. You can also browse the index: people, places and things mentioned by Beckett in his letters.
- Samuel Beckett Digital Manuscript ProjectThe purpose of the Beckett Digital Manuscript Project is to reunite the manuscripts of Samuel Beckett's works in a digital way, and to facilitate genetic research: the project brings together digital facsimiles of documents that are now preserved in different holding libraries, and adds transcriptions of Beckett's manuscripts, tools for bilingual and genetic version comparison, a search engine, and an analysis of the textual genesis of his works.
- Samuel Beckett EndpageBegun 26 November 1996, The Samuel Beckett Endpage is intended as a multiple resource site for all those interested in the life and works of Samuel Beckett.
- Samuel Beckett SocietyThe Samuel Beckett Society is an international organization of scholars, students, directors, actors and others who share an interest in the work of Samuel Beckett.