Routledge Revivals: Bertolt Brecht: Dialectics, Poetry, Politics (1988) by Peter Brooker

Routledge Revivals: Bertolt Brecht: Dialectics, Poetry, Politics (1988) by Peter Brooker

First published in 1988, this books argues with received accounts to reclaim Brecht’s emphasis on his self-described ‘dialectical theatre’, re-examining firstly the concepts of Gestus and Verfremdung and their realisation in Brecht’s poetry in terms of his attempt to consciously apply the methods of dialectical materialism to art and cultural practice. The author also takes issue with the customary view of Brecht’s career and politics which sees him as compromising either with Communist party dogma or bourgeois aesthetics, to find developing parallels between Brecht’s political and artistic though and the critical dialectics of Marx, Lenin and Mao. This development is examined in later chapters in relation to the early and late plays, The Measures Taken and Days of the Commune as well as in relation to Brecht’s changed circumstances in the years of war-time exile and in post-war East Germany.

Raman Selden was Professor of English at Lancaster University and Sunderland Polytechnic. He is remembered with lasting admiration for his contribution to 17^th century studies and especially for his pioneering and lucid introductions of literary theory. His warmth, commitment and energy remain an inspiration to former colleagues and students.

Peter Widdowson was Professor of English at the Universities of Middlesex, Brighton and Gloucester. He was able uniquely to combine seriousness with wit and good humour. His strong and questioning historical sense, evident in his teaching and notably in his work on Thomas Hardy and on the ramifications of contemporary theory, remains a model for younger scholars.

Peter Brooker is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Culture, Film and Media at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. He is the author of A Glossary of Literary and Cultural Theory (Routledge, 2016) and Bertolt Brecht: Dialectics, Poetry, Politics (Routledge Revivals, 2016).