A landmark collection showcasing the diversity of Samuel Beckett's creative output The 35 new and original chapters in this Companion capture the continued vitality of Beckett studies in drama, music and the visual arts and establish rich and varied cultural contexts for Beckett's work world-wide. As well as considering topics such as Beckett and science, historiography, geocriticism and philosophy, the volume focuses on the post-centenary impetus within Beckett studies, emphasising a return to primary sources amid letters, drafts and other documents. Major Beckett critics such as Steven Connor, David Lloyd, Andrew Gibson, John Pilling, Jean-Michel Rabaté and Mark Nixon, as well as emerging researchers, present the latest critical thinking in nine key areas: Art and Aesthetics; Fictions; European Context; Irish Context; Film, Radio and Television; Language/Writing; Philosophies; Theatre and Performance; and Global Beckett. Edited by eminent Beckett scholar S. E. Gontarski, the Companion draws on the most vital, ground-breaking research to outline the nature of Beckett studies for the next generation. S. E. Gontarski is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English at Florida State University, specialising in twentieth-century Irish Studies, in Modernism and in performance theory. He has written extensively on Samuel Beckett, and edited the Journal of Beckett Studies from 1989-2008, currently serving as co-editor with its publication by Edinburgh University Press. Cover image: Samuel Beckett during rehearsal of a play on 21st September 1963 (c) RDA/Getty Images. Cover design: [EUP logo] www.euppublishing.com