| Description |
xv, 432 pages , 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Summary |
"With more than 55 plays to his credit, including the 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning Buried Child, Sam Shepard's impact on American theater ranks with the greatest playwrights of the past half-century. Critics have enthused that he "forged a whole new kind of American play," while younger playwrights venerate him -- Suzan Lori Parks, herself a Pulitzer winner, calls Shepard her "gorgeous north star." As an actor who's appeared in more than 50 feature films, Shepard possesses an onscreen persona that's been aptly summed up as "Gary Cooper in denim." He earned an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Chuck Yeager in the 1983 film The Right Stuff, and his screenplay for Paris, Texas helped that now-classic film sweep the top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. Despite these accomplishments and more -- five collections of prose, writing songs with Bob Dylan, making films with Robert Frank and Michelangelo Antonioni, as well as romantic relationships with rocker Patti Smith and actress Jessica Lange -- Shepard seems anything but satisfied. Sam Shepard: A Life details his lifelong bouts of insecurity and anxiety, and delves deeply into his relationship with his alcoholic father and his own battle with the bottle. Also examined for the first time in-depth are Shepard's tumultuous relationship with Lange, and his decades-long adherence to the teachings of Russian spiritualist G.I. Gurdjieff. Throughout this new biography, John J. Winters gets to the heart of the enigma that is Sam Shepard, presenting an honest and comprehensive account of his life and work"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Discovery -- Beginnings -- The dark muse/Father -- The rock/Mother -- Go west -- On the road -- Arriving -- Genesis -- "Generally acknowledged genius" -- Musical interlude -- New territory -- Early film work (1968-1970) -- Dazed and confused (1968 and 1969) -- New directions -- Patti -- Mad dogs, splits, and more (1971 continued) -- Gurdjieff -- London -- Mill Valley days -- Dylan -- Heavenward (1976) -- Family matters -- You can't go home again -- True brothers -- "Stuff" -- Jessica: the beginning -- Fools for love -- "Paris" -- "Between two deaths" -- Between two families -- "Dancing around the grave?" -- "Action!" -- War story -- Take two -- Losing game -- At last, paradise -- "Blue" days -- "Late" show -- "Hell" -- A late trilogy -- Break -- Stumbling -- The road ahead. |
| Subject |
Shepard, Sam, 1943-
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Dramatists, American -- 20th century -- Biography.
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Actors -- United States -- 20th century -- Biography.
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| Genre |
Biographies.
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| ISBN |
9781619027084 hardcover : $30.00 |
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1619027089 hardcover |
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