Notable Books in English and French on Contemporary French Drama: 1957-1960

NOTABLE BOOKS IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH ON CONTEMPORARY FRENCH DRAMA: 1957-1960 SERIOUS, BOOK-LENGTH STUDIES of contemporary theater and theatrical creators have always been more numerous in France than in the United States and in other English-speaking countries. Yet in France, rather curiously, certain influential members of the intellectual elite have kept a strong prejudice against theatrical writing. Drama, in the minds of these critics, is not an authentic literary genre worthy of consideration on the same level as the novel or poetry. La Nouvelle Revue frant;;aise, most notably, continues to class the drama as "spectacle," along with circus, cinema, and chaMOnniers. Under German occupation, French play writing acquired new esteem. Sartre, Camus, Montherlant, Gabriel Marcel, Robert Merle, and others endowed Parisian stages with increased intellectual and philosophical respectability, by their successful dramas in which metaphysical overtones were essential. When France was liberated in 1945 and widespread publishing recommenced, the novel, poetry, and other literary forms again eclipsed plays in popular favor as "serious" genres. Despite this eclipse, books on drama multiplied. By 1957, a stream of theatrical criticism, history, and theory had begun to' flow with floodtide speed. It is somewhat surprising that to date, critical bibliographies of books on contemporary French theater have been very few. None has been complete. Mario Maurin's cogent, selective summary! (presented to a national MLA meeting in December, 1956), evaluating the current fund O'f significant criticism of French drama and dramatists , was the only recent survey of studies in English and French which approached a full scope. (The yearly PMLA listings of works concerning French literature and the quarterly Revue d:Histoire du Theatre bibliographies, although admirably compiled, leave a few gaps.) It should be useful, therefore, to provide a critical compendium of studies (in book or book-length form) pertaining to the contemporary French drama which were published in English or French during the years 1957-1960. (The 1914-1960 period will be considered "contemporary .") 1. Cf. Mario Maurin, "French Literature sioce World War II: Criticism and Research. Le Theiltre," Symposium, XI, No.1 (Spriog, 1957), 8-15. 200 1962 BOOKS ON CONTEMPORARY FRENCH DRAMA: 1957-60 201 The present survey will attempt to present an evaluative, genuinely critical summary of noteworthy books. Although virtual completeness is a principal purpose of the list, there will be no mention of translations or of totally insignificant volumes. Main focus will be directed toward the most important studies. In each category of books criticized, an approximate ranking of significance will be used, with the most important volumes discussed first. Books will be appropriately classified in these general categories: A. THEATRICAL ENCYCLOPEDIAE B. GENERAL HISTORIES OF CONTEMPORARY THEATER IN FRANCE C. ANNUAL TABULATIONS (IN FRENCH) D. ANNUAL TABULATIONS (IN ENGLISH) E. SCHOLARLY STUDIES OF THEATRICAL HISTORY (IN FRENCH) F. SCHOLARLY STUDIES OF THEATRICAL HISTORY (IN ENGLISH) G. COLLECTIONS OF CRITICAL ESSAYS (IN FRENCH) H. COLLECTIONS OF CRITICAL ESSAYS (IN ENGLISH) I. PANORAMIC SURVEYS; HISTORIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAE, AND DICTIONARIES OF FRENCH LITERATURE (IN FRENCH) J. PANORAMIC SURVEYS; HISTORIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAE, AND DICTIONARIES OF FRENCH LITERATURE (IN ENGLISH) K. PHILOSOPHICAL, RELIGIOUS, AND ESTHETIC TREATISES (IN FRENCH) L. PHILOSOPHICAL, RELIGIOUS, AND ESTHETIC TREATISES (IN ENGLISH) M. STUDIES OF AN INDIVIDUAL PLAYWRIGHT OR ANIMATEUR N. MEMOIRS O. HISTORIES AND CRITICAL STUDIES OF FRENCH THEATRICAL TROUPES P. CRITICAL ANTHOLOGIES OF PLAYS Q. CRITICAL EDITIONS OF PLAYS R. BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDES BOOKS OF 1957-1960 PERTAINING TO FRENCH DRAMA A. THEATRICAL ENCYCLOPEDIAE (1) Encyclop'edie du Theatre contemporain, edited by Gilles Queant, was exceptionally notable. It appeared in two volumes. Volume I retraced the 1850--1914 era, dominated by Andre Antoine's Theatre libre revolution and by the scenic experiments of Lugne-Poe and Paul Fort. The "Golden Age" of modem French theater, 1917-1950, was recalled in Volume II, remarkable for authoritative essays on theorists and animateurs: Copeau, Baty, Gemier, pitoe£f, Artaud, Dullin, Barrault , Jouvet, and Vilar. There were trenchant appraisals of dramatists who created all forms of theater, from the frivolous to the ponderous. From Feydeau and the Guitrys to Sartre and Montherlant, the wide range of French playwrights of this epoch was reviewed in concise but illuminating critiques written by specialists. Both volumes were...