In the face of seemingly relentless American optimism; Eugene Orsquo;Neills plays reveal an America many would like to ignore; a place of seething resentments; aching desires; and family tragedy; where failure and disappointment are the norm and the American dream a chimera. Though derided by critics during his lifetime; his works resonated with audiences; won him the Nobel Prize and four Pulitzer; and continue to grip theatergoers today. Now noted historian John Patrick Diggins offers a masterly biography that both traces Orsquo;Neillrsquo;s tumultuous life and explains the forceful ideas that form the heart of his unflinching works.Diggins paints a richly detailed portrait of the playwrightrsquo;s life; from his Irish roots and his early years at sea to his relationships with his troubled mother and brother. Here we see Orsquo;Neill as a young Greenwich Village radical; a ravenous autodidact who attempted to understand the disjunction between the sunny public face of American life and the rage that he knew was simmering beneath. According to Diggins; Orsquo;Neill mined this disjunction like no other American writer. His characters burn with longing for an idealized future composed of equal parts material success and individual freedom; but repeatedly they fall back to earth; pulled by the tendrils of family and the insatiability of desire. Drawing on thinkers from Emerson to Nietzsche; Orsquo;Neill viewed this endlessly frustrated desire as the problematic core of American democracy; simultaneously driving and undermining American ideals of progress; success; and individual freedom.Melding a penetrating assessment of Orsquo;Neillrsquo;s works and thought with a sensitive re-creation of his life; Eugene Orsquo;Neillrsquo;s America offers a striking new view of Americarsquo;s greatest playwrightmdash;and a new picture of American democracy itself.
#2374629 in eBooks 2008-09-25 2008-09-25File Name: B001OLROTE
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great Reference and Tool for PlaywrightsBy Patricia C"Walking on Fire; The Shaping Force of Emotion in Writing Drama" by Jim Linnell is a great great book for playwrights; dramatic writers and teachers everywhere. In it; Jim Linnell explains and develops his analysis of emotion as the determining and shaping force at the heart of all good dramatic writing. Linnell forcefully and deftly makes his case for emotional form by drawing from classical and modern thinkers; writers and psychologists and drawing from and referencing a large and diverse group of playwrights such as Edward Albee; Bertolt Brecht; Athol Fugard; Henrik Ibsen; Sarah Kane; Tony Kushner; Donald Margulies; Suzan-Lori Parks and William Shakespeare. In so doing; Linnell illustrates how conflict and human emotion intertwine and drive all drama. But "Walking on Fire" is more than a great scholarly work. Linnell; himself a writer and poet as well as a scholar; writes from the trenches. He poses provocative and insightful questions to the writer and includes writing practice exercises such as "Finding Trouble"; "Ask the Character"; "Atom Smashing" and "Testing the Imagination - What if." These exercises not only help the writer deconstruct and understand the emotional current underlying his or her own work; but also help the writer "escape the gooey middle" and find his or her way to the all-important and meaningful END. Linnells writing is thoughtful; lively; absorbing and personal. At the same time; the ease and skill with which he moves among writers; genres; plays and characters reveals his tremendous depth and background. As a playwright and director; I will use Walking on Fire as a trusted guide and reference for a long time to come. I highly recommend.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Much Needed Guide for WritersBy Samuel Roll; Ph.D.; ABPPWalking on Fire is practical and inspirational at the same time. I give it to all students aspriting to the writing professions.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A great addition to any writers libraryBy Georgina HernandezA definite MUST HAVE for the writers tool-kit. This book is not only a reminder; but it is a page to page discovery. Even putting the book down for a while and returning to it proves rewarding as it is written to activate and also to soothe and inspire. Anyone who wants to think on teaching dramatic writing and also all us writers who need to be reminded of the power of mentorship need to pick up this book. It is what it is: walking on fire.
