Tennessee Williams: A Guide to Research and Performance

(Hardback)

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The plays of Tennessee Williams are some of the greatest triumphs of the American theatre. If Williams is not the most important American playwright, he surely is one of the two or three most celebrated, rivaled only by Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller. In a career that spanned almost five decades, he created an extensive canon of more than 70 plays. His contributions to the American theatre are inestimable and revolutionary. The Glass Menagerie (1945) introduced poetic realism to the American stage; A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) explored sexual and psychological issues that had never before been portrayed in American culture; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) dared to challenge the political and sexual mores of the Eisenhower era; and his plays of the 1970s are among the most innovative works produced on the American stage. But Williams was far more than a gifted and prolific playwright. He created two collections of poetry, two novels, four collections of stories, memoirs, and scores of essays. Because of his towering presence in American drama, Williams has attracted the attention of some of the most insightful scholars and critics of the twentieth century. The 1990s in particular ushered in a renaissance of Williams research, including a definitive biography, a descriptive bibliography, and numerous books and scholarly articles. This reference book synthesizes the vast body of research on Tennessee Williams and offers a performance history of his works. Under the guidance of one of the leading authorities on Williams, expert contributors have written chapters on each of Williams' works or clusters of works. Each chapter includes a discussion of the biographical context of a work or group of writings; a survey of the bibliographic history; an analysis of major critical approaches, which looks at themes, characters, symbols, and plots; a consideration of the major critical problems posed by the work; an overview of chief productions and film and television versions; a concluding interpretation; and a bibliography of secondary sources. The volume concludes with a selected, general bibliography and a comprehensive index.

Reviews

"Kolin has assembled an outstanding cast of Williams experts for this invaluable resource for the study and/or production of the work of America's leading poet of the theatre. Each essay is a model of scholarly precision and readability, providing indispensable information for everyone from the beginning student to the advanced researcher. The coverage is equally full, with the entire range of Williams's career surveyed. Even to anticipate the uses of this volume is unfairly to limit its value. In an ideal scholarly/critical world, there would be a book like this on every major American author."-Jackson Bryer University of Maryland
"Philip Kolin and his contributors have produced a reliable and far-ranging guide to the works of Tennessee Williams. The essays are uniformly authoritative, current in scholarship, and sensibly arranged to give pertinent biographical, bibliographical, and performance information. In all, an important contribution to the thriving field of Williams scholarship."-Albert J. Devlin co-editor, The Selected Letters of Tennessee Williams
"This guide, covering the entire expanse of Williams' work, will be a primary source of information on the playwright's drama, fiction, poetry, and films. Kolin and contributors have created a long needed and important addition to Williams studies, of interest to both scholars and fans."-Allean Hale University of Illinois, Urbana
"As its title suggests, this valuable little volume provides an introduction not just to research but also to the performance history of the works of Tennessee Williams....[I]s informative and absorbing, providing a fuller picture of Williams and his work than would a study of either research or performance alone....[I]t should prove a solid resource for students seeking an introduction or overview of work on the playwright and a worthy tool for Williams scholars in need of a ready reference."-World Literature Today
"Kolin has assembled a user-friendly research and performance guide to the work of Tennessee Williams....[T]he commentary throughout is responsible and often insightful, and the framework allows the reader a consistent look at the individual parts of the substantial Williams canon. Undergraduates interested in an introduction to individual plays and scholars and professionals wanting to check details will welcome this resource."-Choice
[I]s an important new resource for students and scholars of Tennessee Williams at all levels of study....The book's format makes it difficult to determine which section is best. They are all good....Kolin has, once again, succeeded in demonstrating the significance of America's (and the South's) most important playwright to American scholarship. All the authors of this new volume have contributed significantly to the current renaissance of interest in Tenest in Tennessee Williams. This is an excellent and useful resource for surther study which no college or university library should be without. For the serious Williams student, it is essential.-South Atlantic Review
[N]o respectable library (or Williams scholar) will want to be without this comprehensive research tool....excellent.-Modern Drama
As its title suggests, this valuable little volume provides an introduction not just to research but also to the performance history of the works of Tennessee Williams....[I]s informative and absorbing, providing a fuller picture of Williams and his work than would a study of either research or performance alone....[I]t should prove a solid resource for students seeking an introduction or overview of work on the playwright and a worthy tool for Williams scholars in need of a ready reference.-World Literature Today
I recommend Kolin's Guide to Research and Performance for anyone either casually interested in or seriously engaged with Williams's work.-Mississippi Quarterly
Kolin has assembled a user-friendly research and performance guide to the work of Tennessee Williams....[T]he commentary throughout is responsible and often insightful, and the framework allows the reader a consistent look at the individual parts of the substantial Williams canon. Undergraduates interested in an introduction to individual plays and scholars and professionals wanting to check details will welcome this resource.-Choice
Philip C. Kolin's survey of critical responses should find a receptive readership....The book offers a stimulating review of interpretations of most of the plays, supplemented by chapters on William's fiction, poetry, and films.-Theatre Journal
The book is an essential first tool for anyone who undertakes serious study of Williams's work, whether from the literary or the theatrical side....Perhaps most importantly for a volume of this kind, it is trustworthy. The editing, a daunting task even for one of Kolin's considerable experience, is nearly perfect. This is a major contribution to the study of Tennessee Williams, current and future.-The Southern Quarterly
This volume should prove to be a worthy addition to collection of criticism of modern America drama as well as theater and performance. It presents 22 essays, which review individual and collective works of this major playwright, bringing together a lot of information....For its scope, quality, and style, the work is noteworthy among the vast array of literary criticism published in a reference format.-ARBA
"Is an important new resource for students and scholars of Tennessee Williams at all levels of study....The book's format makes it difficult to determine which section is best. They are all good....Kolin has, once again, succeeded in demonstrating the significance of America's (and the South's) most important playwright to American scholarship. All the authors of this new volume have contributed significantly to the current renaissance of interest in Tenest in Tennessee Williams. This is an excellent and useful resource for surther study which no college or university library should be without. For the serious Williams student, it is essential."-South Atlantic Review
"No respectable library (or Williams scholar) will want to be without this comprehensive research tool....excellent."-Modern Drama
"[N]o respectable library (or Williams scholar) will want to be without this comprehensive research tool....excellent."-Modern Drama
"I recommend Kolin's Guide to Research and Performance for anyone either casually interested in or seriously engaged with Williams's work."-Mississippi Quarterly
"Philip C. Kolin's survey of critical responses should find a receptive readership....The book offers a stimulating review of interpretations of most of the plays, supplemented by chapters on William's fiction, poetry, and films."-Theatre Journal
"The book is an essential first tool for anyone who undertakes serious study of Williams's work, whether from the literary or the theatrical side....Perhaps most importantly for a volume of this kind, it is trustworthy. The editing, a daunting task even for one of Kolin's considerable experience, is nearly perfect. This is a major contribution to the study of Tennessee Williams, current and future."-The Southern Quarterly
"This volume should prove to be a worthy addition to collection of criticism of modern America drama as well as theater and performance. It presents 22 essays, which review individual and collective works of this major playwright, bringing together a lot of information....For its scope, quality, and style, the work is noteworthy among the vast array of literary criticism published in a reference format."-ARBA
"[I]s an important new resource for students and scholars of Tennessee Williams at all levels of study....The book's format makes it difficult to determine which section is best. They are all good....Kolin has, once again, succeeded in demonstrating the significance of America's (and the South's) most important playwright to American scholarship. All the authors of this new volume have contributed significantly to the current renaissance of interest in Tenest in Tennessee Williams. This is an excellent and useful resource for surther study which no college or university library should be without. For the serious Williams student, it is essential."-South Atlantic Review

Author Bio

PHILIP C. KOLIN is Professor of English at the University of Southern Mississippi. His many books include Confronting Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire (Greenwood, 1993), Tennessee Williams: A Guide to Research and Performance (Greenwood, 1998) and The Tennessee Williams Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 2003).