Tennessee Williams / Paul Ibell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ibell, Paul, author.

Series:

Critical lives (London, England)

Critical lives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983.

Williams, Tennessee.

Dramatists, American--20th century--Biography.

Dramatists, American.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

192 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Place of Publication:

London, UK : Reaktion Books, 2016.

Summary:

Few writers have brought more of their own life into their works than Thomas Lanier 'Tennessee' Williams III. Paul Ibell captures his life as a poet, playwright, brother, homosexual, alcoholic, drug addict and, ultimately, a deeply passionate soul whose intense, iconic plays were a vibrant reflection of life - of human desire and tragedy. William's early plays - undoubtedly his most famous - are explored here, but this illuminating biography also rescues the writer's later, overlooked works from critical obscurity. It emphasizes the importance of Europe on the Southerner's imagination, following and Williams and his companions on their travels and performances in theatres outside the United States, and focuses on the theme for theme for which Williams became most regarded: the power of sexual attraction and the tragedy of its loss when, inevitably, we grow old. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Early Life 13

2 The Later 1940s: A Streetcar to Success 43

3 The 1950s: A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 68

4 The 1960s: A Period of Adjustment 101

5 The 1970s: Small Craft Warnings 131

6 The 1980s: Steps Must Be Gentle 145

7 Afterlife: Into the Twenty-first Century 173.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

178023662X

9781780236629

OCLC:

932385489