Eric Bentley
Eric Bentley ( born September 14, 1916 in Bolton, Lancashire ) is an American cultural critic, writer, singer and translator.
Life
Bentley is one of the most important translators Brecht 's works into English. Born in Britain, he studied at Oxford University and Yale University literature and worked at the University of California, Los Angeles ( UCLA) as a lecturer later. He became an American citizen in 1948. 1942 Bentley met Bertolt Brecht know and engaged from then on for him and his theater. He remained until his death in 1956 Brecht on friendly terms. First Bentley translated scenes from Fear and Misery of the Third Reich into English, which were published in 1944 under the title The Private Life of the Master Race. More translations followed.
In addition to the translations of John Willett are the dominant Bentley today in the English-speaking world. With The Playwright as Thinker wrote Bentley 1946 a highly acclaimed study of modern drama, in which he, inter alia, to intensively dealt with Brecht's work. Until 2002, he was also known as a singer and cabaret artist and released two LPs with Brecht songs. He also wrote his own plays, so among other things, Are you now or have you ever been - a play about the performances of various witnesses before the Committee on Un-American Activities.