— Translated by Hillary Ogden
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) was an important German poet and one of the greatest and most influential playwrights of the 20th Century. In 1916, Brecht’s newspaper articles began appearing under the new name “Bert Brecht.” His first full-length play, Baal, appeared in 1922 and not long afterward Brecht was awarded the Kleist Prize, probably Germany’s most significant literary award. With the assistance of a theater collective that he had formed, Brecht adapted John Gay’s Beggar’s Opera, with Brecht’s lyrics set to music by Kurt Weill. Retitled The Threepenny Opera, it was a sensational success and remains to this day a major theatrical influence throughout the world. Fearing persecution, Brecht left Germany in February 1933, when Hitler took power. He went first to Denmark, then fled to Sweden, Finland, and then to the United States. A fiercely politicized Marxist and champion of the working class and the poor, Brecht was blacklisted by movie studios during the McCarthy anticommunist purges in the late 1940s, and he was eventually interrogated by the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee. The day after he gave his testimony to that committee, Brecht returned to Europe. Living in Berlin, he briefly supported the Soviet domination of East Germany but soon became disillusioned with its stifling, authoritarian character. Brecht died on August 14, 1956, of a heart attack at the age of 58. “A Bed for the Night” was written in the years between 1929 and 1933.
— Translated by Hillary Ogden
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) was an important German poet and one of the greatest and most influential playwrights of the 20th Century. In 1916, Brecht’s newspaper articles began appearing under the new name “Bert Brecht.” His first full-length play, Baal, appeared in 1922 and not long afterward Brecht was awarded the Kleist Prize, probably Germany’s most significant literary award. With the assistance of a theater collective that he had formed, Brecht adapted John Gay’s Beggar’s Opera, with Brecht’s lyrics set to music by Kurt Weill. Retitled The Threepenny Opera, it was a sensational success and remains to this day a major theatrical influence throughout the world. Fearing persecution, Brecht left Germany in February 1933, when Hitler took power. He went first to Denmark, then fled to Sweden, Finland, and then to the United States. A fiercely politicized Marxist and champion of the working class and the poor, Brecht was blacklisted by movie studios during the McCarthy anticommunist purges in the late 1940s, and he was eventually interrogated by the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee. The day after he gave his testimony to that committee, Brecht returned to Europe. Living in Berlin, he briefly supported the Soviet domination of East Germany but soon became disillusioned with its stifling, authoritarian character. Brecht died on August 14, 1956, of a heart attack at the age of 58. “A Bed for the Night” was written in the years between 1929 and 1933.
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