The Lost Work of Beckett

Dr. Sexson asked us to go onto the Samuel Beckett website and find something about him we found interesting. I couldn't resist when I saw there was an Onion article that discussed Beckett. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the Onion, please google it now, it is a news site that finds stories other major new sites seem to "miss". I think that any of us currently trying to tackle Beckett's work can truly appreciate this "wonderful news"

PARIS—Just weeks after the centennial of the birth of pioneering minimalist playwright Samuel Beckett, archivists analyzing papers from his Paris estate uncovered a small stack of blank paper that scholars are calling "the latest example of the late Irish-born writer's genius."

O'Donoghue shows off what could easily be the play's whimsically tragic opening scene.

The 23 blank pages, which literary experts presume is a two-act play composed sometime between 1973 and 1975, are already being heralded as one of the most ambitious works by the Nobel Prize-winning author of Waiting For Godot, and a natural progression from his earlier works, including 1969's Breath, a 30-second play with no characters, and 1972's Not I, in which the only illuminated part of the stage is a floating mouth.

"In what was surely a conscious decision by Mr. Beckett, the white, uniform, non-ruled pages, which symbolize the starkness and emptiness of life, were left unbound, unmarked, and untouched," said Trinity College professor of Irish literature Fintan O'Donoghue. "And, as if to further exemplify the anonymity and facelessness of 20th-century man, they were found, of all places, between other sheets of paper."

"I can only conclude that we have stumbled upon something quite remarkable," O'Donoghue added.

According to literary critic Eric Matheson, who praised the work for "the bare-bones structure and bleak repetition of what can only be described as 'nothingness,'" the play represents somewhat of a departure from the works of Beckett's "middle period." But, he said, it "might as well be Samuel Beckett at his finest."

"It does feature certain classic Beckett elements, such as sparse stage directions, a mysterious quality of anonymity, a slow building of tension with no promise of relief, and an austere portrayal of the human condition," Matheson said. "But Beckett's traditional intimation of an unrelenting will to live, the possibility of escape from the vacuous indifference that surrounds us—that's missing. Were that his vision, I suspect he would have used perforated paper."

Scholars theorize that the 23-page play might have been intended to be titled Five Conversations, Entropolis, or Stop.

In addition, an 81-page document, also blank, was found, which, for all intents and purposes, could be an earlier draft of the work.

"I suspect this was a nascent stream-of-consciousness attempt," O'Donoghue said of the blank sheets of paper, which were found scattered among Beckett's personal effects and took a Beckett scholar four painstaking days to put into the correct order. "In his final version, Beckett used his trademark style of 'paring down' to really get at the core of what he was trying to not say."

Some historians, however, contend that the play could have been the work of one of Beckett's protégés.

"Even though the central theme and wicked sense of humor of this piece would lead one to believe that this could conceivably be a vintage Beckett play, in reality, it could just as easily have been the product of [Beckett's close friend] Rick Cluchey," biographer Neal Gleason said. "And if it was Beckett, it's not outside the realm of possibility that, given his sharp wit, it was just intended as a joke. If Beckett were alive today, he might insist that it's not even a play at all. It could be a novella, or a screenplay."

Enthusiasts still maintain that the "nuances, subtleties, and allusions to his previous works" are all unmistakably Beckett. They also claim to have found notes and ideas for this play in the margins of Beckett's earlier works.

There are already plans to stage the play during the intermission of an upcoming production of Waiting For Godot.

Credit: www.theonion.com

Words

So I've decided on the list I'm going to create. It's actually an old assignment I had when I was a junior in high school that I just happened to remember today. The list will be some of the words I find most beautiful in the English Language. So without further ado;
alas
along
cellar door
brood
demure
cosmoses
nemesis
trout
wheel barrel
thoughtful
hurl
curl
hanger
disaster
ridicule
commotion
dreadful

An Ear of Corn in Silence Reaped

I have participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Or, at least as close as four girls in 1895 could come to duplicating them. Little did I know my sophomore year in Classical Literature when Dr. Sexson discussed his thoughts on these mysteries that I would soon be participating. You see, every sorority for the most part has a greek myth they adopt for their purposes. My sorority adopted the myth of Demeter and Persephone. On the final night of initiation we go into a room and close the door. Clearly, being called mysteries I must keep it that way. However, I can say something is said, something is done, and something is shown.

According to Wikipedia (the most reliable source on the internet of course):The

Eleusinian Mysteries probably included a celebration of Persephone's return, for it was also the return of plants and of life to the earth. Persephone had gone into the underworld (underground, like seeds in the winter), then returned to the land of the living: her rebirth is symbolic of the rebirth of all plant life during Spring and, by extension, all life on earth.

Ours certainly does. In fact our ceremony seemingly parallels Wikipedias description perfect and fills in the blanks Wikipedia cannot fill. This will probably mean even more to me when we get to The Tempest.

Purpose

While searching the archives of the never ending internet I stumbled upon one man's idea of how to figure out your life's purpose in twenty minutes. He says to:
Here’s what to do:

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.

Now, he goes on to say that really this may take a lot longer than twenty minutes for some people because they will give a lot of false answers. I find this completely fascinating because we as humans spend so much of our time masking our personalities from the world and even ourselves. By doing this exercise we become vulnerable and are forced to strip away the layers we have. Plus, if we're lucky, we can live a lifetime in twenty minutes

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/01/how-to-discover-your-life-purpose-in-about-20-minutes/

T.S Eliots Twenty Minute Lifetime

I think that T.S Eliot really says it best in Burnt Norton, "Time present and time past/Are both perhaps present in time future/And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present/All time is unredeemable." I think the concept of a twenty minute lifetime is extremely thought provoking. I'm sure we can all imagine a time when we were forced to grow up right that second and our life progressed ten years right before our eyes. Certainly, there are also more mundane examples such as my shirt folding experience I previously blogged about, but I also think there are more romantically beautiful ones. In fact, I think that the idea that boy meets girl boy and girl fall in love in a single day, boy leaves girl would be quite the perfect twenty minute lifetime story. But I'm sure it's all been done before.

T.S Eliots Twenty Minute Lifetime

I think that T.S Eliot really says it best in Burnt Norton, "Time present and time past/Are both perhaps present in time future/And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present/All time is unredeemable." I think the concept of a twenty minute lifetime is extremely thought provoking. I'm sure we can all imagine a time when we were forced to grow up right that second and our life progressed ten years right before our eyes. Certainly, there are also more mundane examples such as my shirt folding experience I previously blogged about, but I also think there are more romantically beautiful ones. In fact, I think that the idea that boy meets girl boy and girl fall in love in a single day, boy leaves girl would be quite the perfect twenty minute lifetime story. But I'm sure it's all been done before.

Groundhog's Day

Groundhogs Day
I wake up at 8. I know, it’s not the 6 A.M wake up I was instructed to have but if this is the day I must relive over and over I might as well live how I like. (Clearly Bill Murray and I are not quick on the uptake.) I drive to the gym with my roommate, and I can tell I’m getting sick. Of course the day I’m destined to repeat would include me feeling sick. I’m always sick. I run a few laps, easily passing the early morning walkers. I go into the sauna. I’m hoping it will clear up my congested head. It doesn’t. We leave and I lay in bed, the perpetually lazy person. I play a mindless game and then decide I should do something with my day. I fix my hair. I walk past the contractors currently making plans to fix something or other wrong in this horrid house. I grab my purse. I have a mission today and it is one I have been dreading. I drive downtown past the buildings I see almost every week. I don’t pay enough attention but my mind is trying to go blank. I walk into the jewelry store and drop the ring on the table. How much? A hundred dollars, I’ll take it. I browse the glimmering cases full of beautiful trinkets and think about how and why gems are so valued. I take my time looking at each offering carefully debating whether I should spend more or stay within my limit. Since this is supposed to be a very lively day I almost talk myself into the gorgeous flower earrings with the diamond in the middle. But then I spot the dainty yogo sapphire necklace carefully placed upon its box. I’ll take it. I drive back to my house with a sense of pride and also a sense of loss. It’s so strange the emotions we place into things. I get home and grab lunch. Sushi. It strikes me strange that I am never given a say in my meals. I go upstairs. Breakdown. I can’t believe Alyssa is leaving. I should help her, I have so much to do, I really should help her. Maybe if I stay quiet. Car. Driving. To where. Not my choice. Am I hungry? Back home. Homework. Homework. Homework. I thought this would be easy. Apparently I was naïve. Should I call him? No. I should call him. No. Should I? No. Yes. No. Yes. I’ll text him. That ended poorly. Don’t be upset. But I am upset. Distraction. Mindless. Sleep? Lock the door. No privacy in this house. Bang. Bang. Bang. A call? Ignore. Goodnight.