"Messiah of the New Technique: John Howard Lawson, Communism, and
American Theatre, 1923-1937 "is a critical and political biography
and a cultural and social history that focuses on Lawson's career
in the theatre. Using a materialist methodology, Jonathan L.
Chambers emphasizes the evolution and interplay of the playwright's
artistic vision and political ideology, considering his art as both
a documentation of this evolution and a product of the
socio-political and cultural matrix in which he was immersed.
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.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
