Abstract

In the past few years doomsayers and critics have predicted a decline in prominence of Bertolt Brecht, both as playwright and as theoretician. This paper presents the opposite point of view: the life and works of Bertolt Brecht are as renowned now as ever before, as demonstrated by immensely popular novels about his personal adventures and recent productions of his plays. Also, Brecht, the poet, continues, alive and well, to figure in multiple anthologies. Even his personal nature is chronicled, for better or for worse, in numerous creative works. As a personality, he surfaces in fiction and poetry. Even the comments of critics who are predicting his fading from prominence are forced to acknowledge his visibility through the numerous stagings of his works and the application of his dramatic theories. Brecht's undiminished influence inspires, even now, fifty years after his death, a new generation of artists. Vilified or glorified, Brecht remains at the center of global attention of playwrights, directors, and their audiences.