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Growing Up Absurd

The Presence of Beckett in American Men’s Magazines

In: Samuel Beckett Today / Aujourd'hui
Author:
James Baxter United Kingdom London

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Abstract

This article explores the curious interface between Beckett’s writing and the male-orientated magazine culture of the United States. Throughout the 1960s, Beckett would be solicited for articles by Esquire (advertised as ‘The Magazine for Men’) including an unlikely invitation to cover the 1968 Democratic Convention. By 1969, a write-up of Kenneth Tynan’s Oh! Calcutta! (for which Beckett would contribute the opening skit) would feature prominently in the October issue of Playboy magazine. Despite his often-perplexed reactions, this article suggests that the appeal of Beckett to commercial men’s magazines may help to situate the author within mid-century discourses around sexual freedom and ‘hip’ masculinity.

Résumé

Cet article explore la curieuse rencontre entre l’ écriture de Beckett et la culture des magazines destinés à un public masculin états-unien. Tout au long des années 1960, Beckett fut sollicité pour écrire des articles dans Esquire (présenté comme “Un magazine pour les hommes”) ; de façon improbable, il fut notamment invité à couvrir la Convention démocratique de 1968. En 1969, un article sur Oh ! Calcutta ! de Kenneth Tynan (pour lequel Beckett fournira la saynète d’ ouverture) figurera en bonne place dans le numéro d’ octobre du magazine Playboy. L’ auteur montre que malgré les réactions souvent perplexes de Beckett, son attrait pour les magazines masculins commerciaux peut aider à le situer dans les discours du milieu du siècle sur la liberté sexuelle et une masculinité dite ‘branchée’.

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