TEXTS FOR NOTHING. Text XII and Text XIII. Read by Patrick Magee. Vinyl Record.
London: Calder for the British Broadcasting Corporation, 1977. First Edition. Unbound. Quarto (4to). Near fine condition. Item #019992
Vinyl record in near mint condition without any surface flaws. Produced for the BBC Transcription Services for worldwide radio broadcast, restricted to stations authorized by the BBC. Includes the original printed manila sleeve. This is one disc of a series of four that were published. From a copy of an insert, intended to inform the announcer: "'Texts for Nothing', dating from the 1940's, constitute Beckett's masterpiece in the short prose form. The producer, Martin Esslin, writes 'Beckett wrote this work after he had completed his trilogy 'Molloy', 'Malone Dies' and 'The Unnamable', an exploration of man's self which had lead to a point at which it seemed to the author that no more could be said, that the resources of language were exhausted. The thirteen meditations of 'Texts for Nothing' were thus an attempt by Beckett to find his way out of that dead end. The Irish actor Patrick Magee has made a specialisation of the works of Beckett and in these readings he succeeds in exactly capturing the tone and flavour of Beckett's sombre and beautiful prose. Though the Texts may be broadcast individually, they have been arranged so that they may be conveniently scheduled in seven half-hour slots. The first Text is preceded by an introduction to the series by Professor John Fletcher of the University of East Anglia who is a leading expert on Beckett's work." This was apparently first broadcast by the BBC on July 3, 1975 at 9:30PM. These prose poems are meditations on the nature of the self and the burden of being. The voice we hear has reached a state detached from a world which has become unreal. It is from this vantage point that the speaker looks back at existence. Rare vinyl.
Price: $1,800.00