These poems are brilliant and inspiring because they were written by a socialist. They were written to make you think about the system.

Questions by a Worker Who Reads is one of my favourite poems. The freeways, offices, electricity system and everything else in our civilization were not built by politicians or company executives - they were built by workers.

Bertolt Brecht has acquired the same status as those other artists whose work is known, but not appreciated. Like Faulkner, Joyce and Proust, he has become transmuted into an adjective; even worse, he has followers who describe themselves as "Brechtian" and who are happy to discuss his theories of drama instead of the dramas themselves. But things get even worse when you get closer to the man himself, for there is a wealth of evidence that "der arme B.B." was, in fact, a conscienceless thief who stole credit from everyone with whom he worked and, in particular, from the women he charmed into professional and emotional liaisons. Add to this his craven attitude towards Stalin, and his theories of epic theater seem to be, at the very least, a gross exercise in self-deception. All very off-putting. But his poetry is a different matter. Brecht approaches the reader without the arrogance of a theorist interested in instructing the audience how to think. He is more candid, both personally and politically, willing to condemn his own weaknesses and, in his later years, those of the movement that he had defended at any cost. And, most importantly, his poetry is fresh, direct, cutting and beautiful, even in translation. This is a volume that those who are interested in writing poetry should have.

Brecht's language is melting. The plot resembles that of Chekhov's Platonov, only more poetic. Is one of Brecht's best plays, often underrated. Highly recommended by this reader.

A very short observation: Every one that wants to explore the reasons of why Adorno and Brecht were water and oil, why Brecht was very interested in dialectical relationships between wave and matter or why Brecht never ended at Frankfurt receiving three naked students meanwhile a director, can't miss this book.

This work by Jameson is perhaps the first serious attempt since Benjamin, to interpret the methodology of one of the more important playwrights and formal experimenters of our century. Jameson's seminars and work at Duke University are captured here in an elegant and intricate map of the Aesthetic which revolutionized theatre and, subsequently film and new media. Jameson understands how important the notion "Brecht" is outside of the man whose personal life remains controversial and open for debate. An excellent piece.

Whatever the controversy in Brecht's personal life or even his authorship of the work which we credit him, the works contained in this collection are windows to understanding the form championed by many as the only alternative to Stanislavsky's method.

'The Elephant Calf' and 'The Measures Taken' are lessons in action and politics. 'The Jewish Wife' apart from being one of the most important monologues of all time, is a lesson in humanity. A great collection for any actor or serious theatre enthusiast.

i think this book is too deep and meaningful.. it enters too deep into the morals and values of man....

Following the ending of "Oedipus the King," Oedipus was exiled from Thebes, blind and a beggar. We learn from "Oedipus at Colonus" that his sons, Eteocles and Polyneices engaged in a civil war for the throne of Thebes (covered in "Seven Against Thebes" by Aeschylus). The two brothers kill each other and Creon, brother of Jocasta, becomes king. He orders that Eteocles, who nobly defended his city, shall receive an honorable burial, but that Polyneices, for leading the Argive invaders, shall be left unburied. This leads Antigone, sister to both of the slain brothers, to have to choose between obeying the rule of the state, the dictates of familial binds, and the will of the gods. This, of course, is the matter at the heart of this classic tragedy by Sophocles.

But I have always been pleased to discover that many students, when reading "Antigone," quickly come to the conclusion that it is Creon who is the main character in the tragedy (the same way Clytemnestra is the main character in Aeschylus's "Agamemnon"). In this volume, Gita Wolf and Sirish Rao retell the story so that the title character is indeed the main character (I suspect they are borrowing more than a few ideas from Anoulih's retelling of the play in 1944 while France was occupied by the Nazis).

It is too easy to see the issues of this play, first performed in the 5th century B.C., as being reflected in a host of more contemporary concerns, where the conscience of the individual conflicts with the dictates of the state. However, it has always seemed to me that the conflict in "Antigone" is not so clear-cut as we would suppose. After all, Creon has the right to punish a traitor and to expect loyal citizens to obey. Ismene, Antigone's sister, chooses to obey, but Antigone takes a different path. The fact that the "burial" of her brother consists of the token gesture of throwing dirt upon his face, only serves to underscore the ambiguity of the situation Sophocles was developing.

The chief virtue of this retelling, in addition to the excellent illustrations by Indrapramit Roy, is that young readers will better be able to put themselves in the place of Antigone as the tragedy plays out. Consequently, this is a much more personal version of the tale than the original play by Sophocles.

Superbly illustrated by eight of Indrapramit Roy's two-color silk-screened illustrations, Sophocles' Antigone is a splendidly presented retelling of the tragic story told by the blind prophet Teiresias of a Greek princess who discovers that her brother (a rebel against the rule of their uncle Creon) has been murdered and his body left unburied. Torn between her fealty to her uncle and her familial love for her brother, as well as deference to the gods, Antigone is a story of the tragic conflicts between love and duty, honor and the law. A physically beautiful publication, Sophocles' Antigone is a welcome and much appreciated work that will totally engage the attention and appreciation of contemporary readers.

As a theater major I found this book a must so I could understand the MAN(Brecht) as well as his concept of theater.... This book will leave in dismay of how he thought but a gunuine source of how much impact Brecht had on the world of theater

I expected Brecht to be murky at best in logic and stultifying at best in format, but this book reads very nicely. While he does express unique and sometimes eccentric views on epic theater, the ideas are overall incisive, original, and clear. The book is divided into many short essays, reviews, and interviews--making it easy and rewarding to pick up, ingest, digest, and set down again. I'm writing a thesis on contemporary theater; reading Brecht's ideas have clarified my own.

Well written, talented authors! I really liked it!

"The Good Woman of Sezuan" is my favourite play of Brecht's and I really recommend it to anyone who is interested in german literature and plays. It's also a good one to start if this is your first contact with Bertolt Brecht!

I agree that part of the book is useful for newcomers: essays of Brechts own, and key papers in Brecht studies. But the third part can be improved upon. Here the criteria for selection take a nose dive: geological distribution becomes priority number 1 and the editors only strive to keep a balance regardless of the quality of the paper. Martin's essay is especially ill informed and hopelessly outdated. Why not use something by Antony Tatlow, the leading authority?

Readers should also be aware that the selection here seems to be limited to articles that appeared in past TDR. Translate: you will only get a partial view of the Brecht Studies through a North American lense. The third part just fails to balance this "prejudice" out.

For me, like many in the "mainstream," my first taste of Brecht was "The Threepenny Opera." I was lucky enough to be in a theatre class taught by a very sharp and open-minded professor who allowed me to gain a better understanding of the work by writing (and "casting") a film script based on it, instead of the usual critical paper.

But the complexities of Brecht have remained difficult for me to crack, and I was delighted to find this Sourcebook. Martin and Bial, the editors, have compiled a powerful selection of criticism, including translations of a couple of Brecht's own essays.

Sartre's piece on looking beyond bourgeouis theatre found its mark for me and opened my eyes about conventions and assumptions. Kurt Weill on musical theatre provided me with new understanding on his intentions in parting ways with easy tradition.

But it was particularly the section on Brecht interpreted abroad that enlightened me to his enormous influence as a writer and director. Tadashi Uchino skillfully gets at how a theatrical culture as drastically different as Japan's can adopt and adapt external viewpoints to expand its own horizons; and editor Carol Martin brings great insight to Brecht's early revolutionary views on alienation in Chinese theatre as they relate to feminism.

I don't pretend to be an authority on Brecht after reading this sourcebook (though I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night). But those looking to understand his work and his views better, particularly those who already have respect for his work and his lasting influence, will find the book quite useful.

This book brings together Brecht's aesthetic theories, the practice of his theories, and the various ways he has been intrepreted abroad. The essays are readable and are by Brecht, practitioners, and scholars.