Beckett, Samuel, 1906-1989

One of the most unique and powerful voices of the Twentieth Century, Samuel Beckett was born in Foxrock, Ireland, in 1906, and suffered, as he claimed, an eventless childhood. He attended Trinity College in Dublin, and left for Paris when he was twenty-two (he would later call this city home). In Paris he fell in with a group of avant-garde artists, including James Joyce, who was to become a life-long friend. Although he continued to write in both English and French throughout his life, most of his major works were written in French between 1946 and 1950. Beckett was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1969. He died in Paris in 1989.

From the description of Samuel Beckett Papers, [ca. 1959-1973]. (University of California, Santa Barbara). WorldCat record id: 62149010

Irish playwright and novelist.

From the description of Samuel Beckett Collection, 1930-1990. (Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (HRC); University of Texas at Austin). WorldCat record id: 122545926

Beckett was an Irish playwright and novelist.

From the description of Cascando : manuscript, 1961-1962. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 81407807

Irish writer, dramatist and poet, Samuel Beckett (1906-1989). Artist Klaus Zylla was born in 1953 in Cottbus, Germany; he studied at the Art Academy in Berlin. Dividing his time between Berlin and Reguengo Pequeno, Portugal, he has worked on numerous national and international exhibitions.

From the description of Le dépeupleur [manuscript], 2009 / Samuel Beckett ; Klaus Zylla. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 698244160

From the description of Worstward ho [manuscript], 2008 / Samuel Beckett ; paintings Zylla. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 314413530

Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), Irish author, poet, and playwright.

From the description of Samuel Beckett collection, 1955-1996. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122385760

Samuel Beckett, an Irish playwright and poet, died in 1989.

From the description of Samuel Beckett letter to [Limes Verlag], 1956 July 21. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 52511953

Irish novelist, playwright, and poet; d. 1989.

From the description of Papers, 1946-1981. (Washington University in St. Louis). WorldCat record id: 25933127

Samuel Beckett, a French playwright and poet, died in 1989.

From the description of Samuel Beckett exhibition catalogs and programs, 1965-1980. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 45705945

Irish writer, dramatist and poet, Samuel Beckett (1906-1989). Artist Antje Wichtrey was born in 1966 in Germany. She now lives and works near Granada, Spain.

From the description of Flötentöne [manuscript], 2006 / Samuel Beckett ; aus dem Französischen von Karl Krolow. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 698244162

Beckett was an Anglo-French playwright and novelist.

From the description of Papers, 1960-1975. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 83300992

Irish playwright and author; chiefly lived in France; wrote in English and French; d. 1989.

From the description of Samuel Beckett collection, 1953-1964. (Boston University). WorldCat record id: 70967633

Irish author, poet, and playwright.

Beckett was born in a suburb of Dublin and attended Trinity College. After a period of teaching and travelling he settled in Paris. After World War II he produced a number of plays and other literary works. Beckett became an important contributor to existentialist philosophy, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

From the description of Barney Rosset - Samuel Beckett Collection, 1949-1989, (bulk 1970-1989). (Boston College). WorldCat record id: 32344598

Irish author, poet and playwright.

Beckett was born in a suburb of Dublin and attended Trinity College. After a period of teaching and travelling he settled in Paris. After World War II he produced a number of plays and other literary works. Beckett became an important contributor to existentialist philosophy, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

From the description of Calvin Israel - Samuel Beckett collection, 1929-1981 (bulk 1960-1980). (Boston College). WorldCat record id: 33140752

Irish author, poet and playwright.

Beckett was born in a suburb of Dublin and attended Trinity College. After a period of teaching and travelling he settled in Paris. After World War II he produced a number of plays and other literary works. Beckett became an important contributor to existentialist philosophy, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

Swiss-born French novelist and playwright.

Robert Pinget was born on July 19, 1919 in Geneva Switzerland. In 1946, he moved to Paris and gradually discovered his interest in writing and became part of the NOUVEAU ROMAN literary movement. Pinget met Beckett in 1955 and they forged a friendship important to him both personally and professionally. Pinget died in 1997.

From the description of Robert Pinget - Samuel Beckett letters, 1953-1988 (bulk 1955-1977). (Boston College). WorldCat record id: 50180992

Irish author, poet and playwright.

Beckett was born in a suburb of Dublin and attended Trinity College. After a period of teaching and travelling he settled in Paris. After World War II he produced a number of plays and other literary works. Beckett became and important contributor to existentialist philosophy, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

From the description of Alan Schneider - Samuel Beckett Collection, 1955-1984. (Boston College). WorldCat record id: 32344632

Samuel Beckett was born in Foxrock, County Dublin on Good Friday, 13 April 1906. Although throughout his life he had the reputation of being sombre, mysterious and reclusive, this popular myth hid a very private, yet immensely generous, gracious and caring person.

On entering Trinity College, Dublin, Beckett developed his interest in art, music and literature. He was a gifted linguist who also enjoyed vaudeville theatre and the films of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers. An academic career seemed to be the obvious option on graduating but, after spells teaching in Paris and Dublin, Beckett realised he was more suited to the artistic lifestyle he had encountered in Paris in the company of James Joyce. Having witnessed the intolerance of the Nazi regime towards writers and artists in Germany in 1936, Beckett famously decided that he preferred France at war to Ireland in peace, opting to live in France for the rest of his life. However, this bold decision was more than a mere gesture. Beckett was forced to spend much of the war on the run from the Nazis in the South of France working with the French Resistance, for which he was later awarded the Croix de Guerre.

The end of the war marked a burst of literary activity for Beckett, who began writing, in French, a dense prose trilogy comprising Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable . As a relaxation from this project, between October 1948 and January 1949, Beckett worked on a play entitled En attendant Godot - the work which brought him international fame and recognition and which redefined modern theatre. Further literary success ensued, culminating in him being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

As the years progressed, Beckett's prose and drama decreased in length, as he found increasingly successful ways to express the inexpressible. Yet throughout his career, he remained a bilingual author, creating French and English versions of almost all his work. During the 1970s Beckett directed his major stage plays in Berlin in German, exhibiting another side of his character. His success in this field led him to direct his own plays created specifically for television - a medium which seemed perfect for the stark, imposing images of these later, minimalist pieces.

Samuel Beckett died on 22 December 1989 and was buried in a private ceremony in the Cimetire de Montparnasse in Paris.

From the guide to the Samuel Beckett Collection, 1929 - [ongoing], (Reading University: Special Collections Services)