Witold Gombrowicz's Century

Susan Sontag has described the work of playwright and novelist Witold Gombrowicz (19041969) as "sublime mockery," humorously depicting the aspirations and contradictions of his native Poland's tumultuous entrance into modernity. As part of the worldwide centenary celebration of the author, this special issue of Theater reassesses his place in the American and international repertory. Witold Gombrowicz's Century includes overviews of Gombrowicz scholarship and production histories by Allen J. Kuharski and Vincent Giroud, a photo-essay of famous directors' approaches to his plays, Michael Hackett and Anna Krajewska-Wieczorek's adaptation of Gombrowicz's short story about cannibalistic aristocrats, commentary with Polish director Anna Augustynowicz, and the writer's previously unpublished correspondence with Luc Bondy and Luca Ronconi. The issue also features excerpts from the forthcoming edition of Gombrowicz's Memoirs, never before published in English, and is illustrated with personal and theatrical photos from Yale's Beinecke Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts.