Dialogues on Beckett: Whatever Happened to God?

Description

Dialogues on Beckett is a collection of 12 conversations about 12 plays by Samuel Beckett, discussions about the meaning of life and the universe between an agnostic and a Christian, based on a close reading of the text. It is also based on the thesis that Beckett's main concern in his plays is Christian theology or, more broadly, the religious interpretation of the world. All his plays are an argument with that interpretation: in particular, they question the idea of theodicy and the philosophy of consolation. The aim of Dialogues on Beckett is to make the reader aware of this essential theme in the playwright's work, to interpret it in this light and to show his original approach to the subject. Beckett argues that we live in a post-Christian era. But for him this knowledge is no reason for joy: rather, it is a source of sadness, fear and even despair.

Antoni Libera is a writer, translator and stage director. Among his translations into Polish are all of Samuel Beckett's plays and much of his prose. He has also directed many of Beckett's plays, both in Poland and abroad, and has presented them at various international theatre festivals. Janusz Pyda OP is a Dominican friar and lecturer in philosophy and theology at the Polish Dominican College of Philosophy and Theology.