The politics of reputation
Subtitle: the critical reception of Tennessee Williams' later plays
By: Annette J. Saddik.
Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Associated University Presses
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Madison, [N.J.]; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 173
Subjects: Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983 -- Criticism and interpretation -- History.; Criticism -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Description: Author Annette J. Saddik researches Tennessee Williams' much-neglected later work (from 1961 to 1983), and argues that it deserves a central place in American experimental drama. Offering a new reading of Williams' career, she challenges the conventional wisdom that his later work represents a failure of his creative powers.

By reading through the criticism and comparing this later work with the work of avant-garde dramatists such as Beckett and Pinter, Saddik demonstrates that what has been characterized as a failure is in fact a conscious departure from the essentially realistic forms that had established Williams' reputation.

The expectations of both the popular and academic press in this country, however, prevented them from accepting Williams' departure from the more traditional, rather commercial plays presented on Broadway (and made into Hollywood films) that only flirted with anti-realistic devices, to the minimalist explorations of language, character, and action that challenged realistic presentation altogether.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (164-167) and index.