John Willett

John Willett

John Willett was a translator and a scholar who is famous for translating the work of Bertolt Brecht into English. He was born on June 24 1917, and died August 20 2002. He was 85.

Early life

Willett was educated at Winchester and Christ Church, Oxford. He went on to the Manchester College of Art and dance, and then to Vienna, where he studied music (Willett played the cello), and stage design.

Willett began his career as a Theatre Designer. However, this career was cut short by World War II. He served in Intelligence and the Eighth Army, in North Africa and Italy. After being de-mobalized, Willett worked first for the Manchester Guardian from 1948 to 1951, and then 1960 he became the deputy to Arthur Crook, the editor of The Times Literary Supplement. Willett stayed there until 1967.

Later life

Willett became a freelance writer, an editor and translator, a Theatre director, and a visiting professor and lecturer. He became famous in academic circles for his patient work and careful research in translation, especially in German culture and politics. Famous relatives include Chris Martin of Coldplay, Jamie Willett, Matthew Willett and George Willett.

Brecht

Willett's love of Brecht began in the 1930s. Willett first studied Brecht's theatre design work. After the war, Willett became friends with Brecht himself, although it is said that the friendship got off to a bad start due to a disagreement about the Hitler-Stalin pact, but got back on track after they discovered that they were both interested in Tacitus.

Willett worked on English translations for many of Brecht's plays, including:

*"Life of Galileo"
*"The Good Person of Setzuan"
*"The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui"
*"Mother Courage and Her Children"

Bibliography

* Willett, John. 1967. "The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht: A Study from Eight Aspects." Third rev. ed. London: Methuen, 1977. ISBN 041334360X.
* ---. 1978. "Art and Politics in the Weimar Period: The New Sobriety 1917-1933". New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0306807246.
* ---. 1998. "Brecht in Context: Comparative Approaches". Rev. ed. London: Methuen. ISBN 0413723100.

External links

* [http://www.frontlist.com/booklist/29521 Books translated, edited, or written by John Willett]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Willett — John William Mills Willett (* 24. Juni 1917 in London; † 20. August 2002 ebenda) war ein britischer Literaturwissenschaftler, Übersetzer und Brecht Experte. Leben John Willett stammte aus einer Familie von Bauunternehmern. Er wuchs im Londoner… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Willett Payne — Infobox Military Person name= John Willett Payne lived= 23 April, 1752 ndash; 17 November, 1803 placeofbirth= St Kitts, Leeward Islands placeofdeath= Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich caption= nickname= allegiance= flagicon|United Kingdom United… …   Wikipedia

  • Willett — is a surname of English origin. Notable people with this name include:Athletes*Adam Willett American boxer *Ed Willett, a former pitcher in Major League Baseball *Elquemedo Willett, a West Indian test cricketer *Tonito Willett, a West Indian test …   Wikipedia

  • John B. Willett — John Willett was born in 1947 inLeeds and raised in Harrogate, in the North of England. He studied physics at Oxford University in the late 1960s. He taught high school physics and mathematics at the Island School, Hong Kong, in the 1970s and… …   Wikipedia

  • Willett — ist der Name folgender Personen: Frank Willett (1925–2006), britischer Kunsthistoriker John Willett (1917–2002), britischer Literaturwissenschaftler und Übersetzer Marinus Willett (1740–1830), US amerikanischer Revolutionär, Politiker, Sheriff… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Payne — may refer to:*John Payne (actor), an American movie actor and singer *John Payne (voice actor), a Canadian voice actor *John Payne (poet), an English poet and translator *John Payne (politician), a New Zealand politician *John Payne (singer),… …   Wikipedia

  • Willett — This name derives from the old French given name William, itself coming from the old German Wilhelm composed of the elements Wil will, desire and Helm , helmet, protection, plus the French diminutive suffix ett . It was introduced into England at …   Surnames reference

  • John-C.-Butler-Klasse — Übersicht Typ: Geleitzerstörer Name: John C. Butler Einheiten: 87 gebaut …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Broome (Politiker) — John Broome (* 1738 auf Staten Island; † 8. August 1810 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Händler und Politiker, der von 1804 bis 1810 der Vizegouverneur des Bundesstaates New York war. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Werdegang 2 Ehrungen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • John Anderson (Newfoundland politician) — John Anderson (January 27 1855 ndash; November 8 1930) was a businessman, politician, and member of St. John s city council and member of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland, Canada. He was instrumental in the passing of the Daylight Saving Act …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”