Spanning the playwright's career, the volume details Lawson's early indoctrination in and commitment to the avant-garde, his use and development of various nonrealistic playwriting techniques, his subtle though unfocused attacks on bourgeois society, and the varied critical responses he received. Chambers addresses Lawson's involvement with the New Playwrights' Theatre and his participation in the protests surrounding the case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, which stimulated his growing commitment to left-wing politics and radical causes.
Chambers also analyzes the social and cultural factors that shaped Lawson's growing interest in revolutionary politics, his tutelage in Marxism under Edmund Wilson, and his tenure as president of the Screen Writers Guild. He also covers the final phase of Lawson's playwriting career, which reveals the playwright's internal struggle. That struggle, suggests Chambers, pitted Lawson's view of aesthetics against his political ideology and is reflected in his scripts and theoretical writings.
"Messiah of the New Technique" provides a wealth of new material about both the playwright and the period, offering a criticalsynopsis of the artist's career, addressing his often vehement rebuttals to his critics, and summarizing both his political activism and his creative and critical endeavors in the last forty years of his life.
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Spanning the playwright's career, the volume details Lawson's early indoctrination in and commitment to the avant-garde, his use and development of various nonrealistic playwriting techniques, his subtle though unfocused attacks on bourgeois society, and the varied critical responses he received. Chambers addresses Lawson's involvement with the New Playwrights' Theatre and his participation in the protests surrounding the case of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, which stimulated his growing commitment to left-wing politics and radical causes.
Chambers also analyzes the social and cultural factors that shaped Lawson's growing interest in revolutionary politics, his tutelage in Marxism under Edmund Wilson, and his tenure as president of the Screen Writers Guild. He also covers the final phase of Lawson's playwriting career, which reveals the playwright's internal struggle. That struggle, suggests Chambers, pitted Lawson's view of aesthetics against his political ideology and is reflected in his scripts and theoretical writings.
"Messiah of the New Technique" provides a wealth of new material about both the playwright and the period, offering a criticalsynopsis of the artist's career, addressing his often vehement rebuttals to his critics, and summarizing both his political activism and his creative and critical endeavors in the last forty years of his life.
Imprint | Southern Illinois University Press |
Country of origin | United States |
Series | Theater in the Americas |
Release date | June 2006 |
Availability | Supplier out of stock. If you add this item to your wish list we will let you know when it becomes available. |
First published | June 2006 |
Authors | Jonathan L. Chambers |
Series editors | Robert A. Schanke |
Dimensions | 229 x 152 x 24mm (L x W x T) |
Format | Hardcover |
Pages | 304 |
ISBN-13 | 978-0-8093-2699-0 |
Barcode | 9780809326990 |
Categories | |
LSN | 0-8093-2699-X |