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Edited by John Willett Translated by Hugh Rorrison
"Those who dismiss Brecht as a yea-sayer to Stalinism are advised to read these journals and moderate their opinion." (Paul Bailey, Weekend Telegraph)
Brecht's Journals cover the period from 1938 to 1955, the years of exile in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and America, and his return via Switzerland to East Berlin. His criticisms of the work of other writers and intellectuals are perceptive and polemic, and the accounts of his own writing practice provide insight into the creation of his dramatic works of the period, the development of his political thinking and his theories about epic theatre. Also integrated into the journals are Brecht's immediate reactions to and commentary upon the events of the period: his political exile's view of the course of World War II and his account of the House Un-American Activities committee. "A marvellous, motley collage of political ideas, domestic detail, artistic debate, poems, photographs and cuttings from newspapers and magazines, assembled, undoubtedly for posterity by one of the great writers of the century" (New Statesman and Society)
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About Bertolt Brecht Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) grew to maturity as a playwright in the frenetic years of the twenties and early thirties, with such plays as The Threepenny Opera, Mahagonny and The Mother. He left Germany when Hitler came to power in 1933, eventually reaching the United States in 1941, where he remained until 1947. It was during this period of exile that masterpieces such as The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and The Caucasian Chalk Circle were written. Shortly after his return to Europe in 1947, he founded the Berliner Ensemble, with whom he created a number of legendary productions of his own plays. He died in 1956 and his Centenary was celebrated in 1998.
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