Eric Bentley

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Eric Russell Bentley (born September 14, 1916 in Bolton , Lancashire , United Kingdom , † August 5, 2020 in New York City , New York , United States ) was an American cultural critic , author, singer and translator .

Life

Bentley was considered one of the most important translators of Brechtian works into English. Born in Great Britain, he studied literature at Oxford University and Yale University and later worked as a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He became an American citizen in 1948. In 1942 Bentley met Bertolt Brecht in Hollywood and from then on was committed to him and his theater. He remained on friendly terms with Brecht until his death in 1956. Bentley first translated scenes from the fear and misery of the Third Reich into English, which were published in 1944 under the title The Private Life of the Master Race . Further translations followed.

In addition to the translations by John Willett , those by Bentley are now dominant in the English-speaking world. With The Playwright as Thinker , Bentley wrote a highly acclaimed study on modern drama in 1946, in which he a. a. dealt intensively with Brecht's work. Until 2002 he was also known as a singer and cabaret artist and released two long-playing records with Brecht songs. In addition, he wrote his own plays, so u. a. Are you now or have you ever been - a play about various witnesses appearing before the Un-American Activities Committee .

In 1969 Bentley was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 1990 to the American Academy of Arts and Letters .

Fonts

  • 1944: A Century Of Hero Worship
  • 1946: The Playwright As Thinker
  • 1947: Bernard Shaw
  • 1956: What Is Theater?
  • 1964: The Life Of The Drama
  • 1972: Theater Of War
  • 1981: Brecht Commentaries
  • 1987: Thinking About The Playwright
  • 2008. Bentley on Brecht . 480 pages, Northwestern Univ. Pr .; 2008, language: English, ISBN 978-0-8101-2393-9

Plays

  • 1972: Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been: The Investigations of Show-Business by the Un-American Activities Committee 1947-1958 (Eng. Are you now or have you ever been. The investigation into show business by the committee of investigation un-American activities 1947–1958 , S. Fischer, 1979)
  • 1985: Monstrous Martyrdoms (collection of pieces, including: Lord Alfred's Lover , H for Hamlet , German Requiem )

literature

  • Ana Kugli, Michael Opitz (ed.): Brecht Lexikon . Stuttgart and Weimar 2006

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt: Eric Bentley, Critic Who Provoked Lovers of Broadway, Dies at 103. In: The New York Times , August 5, 2020 (English). Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  2. ↑ Willi Winkler : On the death of Eric Bentley. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, No. 181 of August 7, 2020, p. 11.
  3. ^ American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Book of Members ( PDF ). Retrieved April 15, 2016
  4. ↑ Academy Members. American Academy of Arts and Letters, accessed January 10, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Bentley, Eric
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bentley, Eric Russell (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author, Brecht translator
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Bolton , Lancashire , United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH 5th August 2020
Place of death New York City , New York , United States