BERTOLT BRECHT ~ February 10, 1898 ~ August 14, 1956

Bertolt Brecht (born Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht; 10 February 1898–14 August 1956) was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director. An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the Berliner Ensemble—the post-war theatre company operated by Brecht and his wife and long-time collaborator, the actress Helene Weigel—with its internationally acclaimed productions.

From his late twenties Brecht remained a life-long committed Marxist who, in developing the combined theory and practice of his 'epic theatre', synthesized and extended the experiments of Erwin Piscator and Vsevolod Meyerhold to explore the theatre as a forum for political ideas and the creation of a critical aesthetics of dialectical materialism. Brecht's modernist concern with drama-as-a-medium led to his refinement of the 'epic form' of the drama. This dramatic form is related to similar modernist innovations in other arts, including the strategy of divergent chapters in James Joyce's novel Ulysses, Sergei Eisenstein's evolution of a constructivist 'montage' in the cinema, and Picasso's introduction of cubist 'collage' in the visual arts. In contrast to many other avant-garde approaches, however, Brecht had no desire to destroy art as an institution; rather, he hoped to 're-function' the theatre to a new social use. In this regard he was a vital participant in the aesthetic debates of his era—particularly over the 'high art/popular culture' dichotomy—vying with the likes of Adorno, Lukács, Bloch, and developing a close friendship with Benjamin. Brechtian theatre articulated popular themes and forms with avant-garde formal experimentation to create a modernist realism that stood in sharp contrast both to its psychological and socialist varieties. "Brecht's work is the most important and original in European drama since Ibsen and Strindberg," Raymond Williams argues, while Peter Bürger dubs him "the most important materialist writer of our time."

Collective and collaborative working methods were inherent to Brecht's approach, as Fredric Jameson (among others) stresses. Jameson describes the creator of the work not as Brecht the individual, but rather as 'Brecht': a collective subject that "certainly seemed to have a distinctive style (the one we now call 'Brechtian') but was no longer personal in the bourgeois or individualistic sense." During the course of his career, Brecht sustained many long-lasting creative relationships with other writers, composers, scenographers, directors, dramaturgs and actors; the list includes: Elisabeth Hauptmann, Margarete Steffin, Ruth Berlau, Slatan Dudow, Kurt Weill, Hanns Eisler, Paul Dessau, Caspar Neher, Teo Otto, Karl von Appen, Ernst Busch, Lotte Lenya, Peter Lorre, Therese Giehse, Angelika Hurwicz, Carola Neher, and Helene Weigel herself. This is "theatre as collective experiment [...] as something radically different from theatre as expression or as experience."

There are few areas of modern theatrical culture that have not felt the impact or influence of Brecht's ideas and practices; dramatists and directors in whom one may trace a clear Brechtian legacy include: Dario Fo, Augusto Boal, Joan Littlewood, Peter Brook, Peter Weiss, Heiner Müller, Pina Bausch, Tony Kushner, Robert Bolt and Caryl Churchill. In addition to the theatre, Brechtian theories and techniques have exerted considerable sway over certain strands of film theory and cinematic practice; Brecht's influence may be detected in the films of Jean-Luc Godard, Lindsay Anderson, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Joseph Losey, Nagisa Oshima, Ritwik Ghatak, Lars von Trier, Jan Bucquoy and Hal Hartley.

Image & Text:wikipedia.com

I met my late friend Jonathan Arlow when he was in a production of Brecht's Mother Courage his freshman year in Yale College. I still have vivid memories of that brilliant production.

Today is the birthday of my Harvard friend Daniel Gallisa, who was married to Kitty on January 17, 2009-- a special day in my own history with Jeffrey Hardy and Dennis Graham.

Dennis' and my friend Samuel Leftwich celebrates his birthday today as well. Sam catered Dennis' surprise 40th birthday party twenty-two years ago last night. Can it be? The picture of Dennis with his first and favorite Cavalier, Nell (on the cover of his funeral service leaflet shown with yesterday's post) was taken only a few seconds after he entered the dining room to find forty of his favorite people crammed into the room to celebrate his 40th birthday.

HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION ~ October 23 ~ November 10, 1956

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (Hungarian: 1956-os forradalom) was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the Stalinist government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956.

The revolt began as a student demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building. A student delegation entering the radio building in an attempt to broadcast its demands was detained. When the delegation's release was demanded by the demonstrators outside, they were fired upon by the State Security Police (ÁVH) from within the building. The news spread quickly and disorder and violence erupted throughout the capital.

The revolt spread quickly across Hungary, and the government fell. Thousands organized into militias, battling the State Security Police (ÁVH) and Soviet troops. Pro-Soviet communists and ÁVH members were often executed or imprisoned, as former prisoners were released and armed. Impromptu councils wrested municipal control from the ruling Hungarian Working People's Party and demanded political changes. The new government formally disbanded the ÁVH, declared its intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact and pledged to re-establish free elections. By the end of October, fighting had almost stopped and a sense of normality began to return.

After announcing a willingness to negotiate a withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Politburo changed its mind and moved to crush the revolution. On 4 November, a large Soviet force invaded Budapest and other regions of the country. Hungarian resistance continued until 10 November. Over 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the conflict, and 200,000 Hungarians fled as refugees. Mass arrests and denunciations continued for months thereafter. By January 1957, the new Soviet-installed government had suppressed all public opposition. These Soviet actions alienated many Western Marxists, yet strengthened Soviet control over Central Europe, reinforcing perceptions that communism was both irreversible and monolithic.

Public discussion about this revolution was suppressed in Hungary for over 30 years, but since the thaw of the 1980s it has been a subject of intense study and debate. At the inauguration of the Third Hungarian Republic in 1989, October 23 was declared a national holiday.

Image & Text:wikipedia.com

I actually remember some Hungarian refugees in November 1956. We shared Thanksgiving dinner with them at a friend's house in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, my hometown. That was barely more than two weeks after the end of the uprising.

I visited Budapest three and a half years ago and saw the crown of St. Stephan under the dome of the Parliament building. President Carter returned this national treasure to Hungary on January 6, 1978. I heard a marvelous performance of Mahler's 8th Symphony in Budapest two years ago last February. It wasn't surprising to me that the choral performances were so excellent when I recalled that Zoltan Kodaly was Hungarian and had had a profound influence on musical education in Hungary and beyond.

SZILARD's Birthday

BIRTHDAYS

Recently I’ve written a lot about death and funerals. So it’s a pleasant change to talk instead about birthdays. Today I had brunch with my young Hungarian friend Szilard, who turned twenty-three today. Adam K was supposed to join us, but had a bad headache. So Rupert, Rose and I walked to the Castro and sat outside at Catch to celebrate Szilard’s day. He’s going to be moving to Las Vegas soon, so it was good to see him on a beautiful autumn day here in San Francisco. I had ordered a small chocolate cake from my favorite local French bakery, Tartine, on Guerrero & 18th.

When I was off work after my heart attack four years ago, I used to take Rose and Rupert for a walk over the hill to Tartine for a hot chocolate and fresh croissant. The walk was good. I’m not sure it was such a great idea to have a croissant every day.

Two weeks ago, we three R's --Rupert, Rose & I -- attended a champagne reception at Chris Wahlgren's house the week after his fortieth birthday. Chris is our friend who owns Nomad Rugs on 24th Street near Church. Dennis used to help out there after being let go from Lang's Estate Jewelry. And Chris is very dog friendly. I've never been to a party at his place without at least five or six dogs in attendance.

Yesterday was Herb Goodrich's birthday on 10/10 (the anniversary of the rebellion that started the Chinese Revolution in 1911. Sun Yat-sen was in San Francisco on the day, a little like Lenin's being in Switzerland at the beginning of the Russian Revolution. Leaders sometimes don't start world events, they just manage and manipulate them.) Herb is a good friend and Bohemian...a fine writer, composer and director. He wrote and conducted the wonderful score for last summer's Grove Play. I called him Friday and sent him a Jacquie Lawson online card.

Tomorrow Adam and I are going to my friend Dave Jones’ fiftieth birthday celebration at the Bohemian Club. Dennis and I went to his extraordinary wedding several years ago on September 1st (my parents’ wedding anniversary) at an estate in Carmel. We were put up in a fine hotel in Monterrey for several nights. It was a wonderful affair. Dave’s wife Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones, originally from Cincinnati, really knows how to throw a party.