S. E. Gontarski

Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor
WMS 430
sgontarski@fsu.edu
Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English
Florida State University

Scholar of modernism, textual scholarship, and performance theory. Internationally recognized authority on Samuel Beckett.

S. E. Gontarski is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of English at Florida State University and a leading international scholar of twentieth-century modernism. His work—especially on Samuel Beckett—has helped shape contemporary approaches to textual scholarship, modernist performance, and the history of literary media systems.

Across more than five decades, his scholarship has explored the intersection of literature, theatre practice, editorial theory, and publishing history. Through influential monographs, scholarly editions, and edited collections, he has examined how modernist texts circulate across manuscripts, print culture, and performance.

Gontarski’s work bridges literary criticism, archival studies, and theatre history, situating modernist writing within broader cultural and technological transformations.

Research Areas
Modernism and European avant-garde literature
Samuel Beckett studies
Textual scholarship and editorial theory
Performance and theatre studies
Irish studies and transnational modernism
History of text technologies and publishing

Editorial Work
Gontarski has played a major role in shaping the field of modernist and Beckett studies through editorial leadership in journals and book series.

Editor (1990-2008) and Co-editor (2008-present)
Journal of Beckett Studies

Guest Editor
Modern Fiction Studies
The Review of Contemporary Fiction
American Book Review
Drammaturgia (Italy)

Book Series Editor
Crosscurrents: Comparative Studies in European Literature and Philosophy
Anthem Studies in Theatre and Performance
Other Becketts
Understanding Philosophy / Understanding Modernism

Fellowships and Visiting Positions
Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center — Resident Fellow
Bogliasco Foundation — Resident Fellow
American Academy in Rome — Visiting Scholar
Two Fulbright Professorships — Ireland (1998-9) and Australia-New Zealand (1984-5)
Visiting Professorships — Trinity College Dublin and other international institutions

BOOKS

ESSAYS AND LECTURES

FELLOWSHIPS AND VISITING APPOINTMENTS

  • Visiting Professor, University of California, Riverside, 1982-83
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, 1983-84
  • Research Associate, University of California, Riverside, 1983-84
  • Senior Fulbright Professor, Australia, New Zealand, 1984-85
  • Artist-in-Residence, Djerassi Foundation, 1986
  • Distinguished Visiting Professor of Comparative Literature and Classics, California State University-Long Beach, 1987-88
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow, 1993-94
  • Distinguished Visiting Professor, Samuel Beckett Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies and the School of English, University of Dublin, Trinity College, 1994
  • William Evans Professor, School of Humanities, University of Otago, Dunedid, New Zealand, 1994
  • Lansdowne Professor, Department of Theatre, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada, 1996
  • Fulbright Professor of American and Irish Studies, National University of Ireland, University College, Dublin, Ireland, 1998-9
  • Resident Scholar, Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy, 2001
  • Academic Director, Florida State University London Study Center, 2005
  • Research Fellow of Theoretical Studies of Theatre (Western/Comparative Theatre Studies), 21st Century COE [Center of Excellence] Institute of Theatre Research and the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum, Waseda University, Tokyo, fall of 2006
  • Director, Florida State University in Ireland, 2008
  • Resident Fellow, Bogliasco Foundation Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities, Spring 2011
  • Professor vistante, PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM PERFORMANCES CULTURAIS: TEORIAS E PRÁTICAS DA PERFORMANCE, Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) e Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB) (2012)
  • Visiting Scholar, American Academy in Rome, March 2016

IN THE NEWS

  • Grove Press web page, “Grove at Home”: “Oh, Nothing, Just Camcorder Footage of Samuel Beckett Watching a TV Production of His Own Play”: Samuel Beckett! Watching his work! On VHS! This utterly marvelous clip also features some commentary by Professor Stanley Gontarski, co-author of THE GROVE COMPANION TO SAMUEL BECKETT, as well as editor of and consultant on a great many of our Beckett books. This clip cannot be watched enough times. Try it, you’ll see”: https://youtu.be/1ohAssRQsjM
  • Keynote address Charles University, Department of Philosophy, 11 April 2016, "Samuel Beckett in Performance: The Questions We Ask” at The XI Prague Interpretation Colloqium, Chaos and Form: Echoes of Beckett in Literature and the Arts. Published in Litteraria Pragensia (Faculty of Philosophy, Charles University). Eds. Tomáš Koblížek & Petr Koťátko, 2016, pp. 4-25. [Watch Here]
  • Interview in Brazil, 2010 [Watch Here]
  • Interview for "Metropolis" on RTS (Radio Television Serbia) 2 June 2011 (final few minutes of the show). [Watch Here]
  • NPR Profile of Grove Press Publisher Barney Rosset[download mp3 file]
  • Irish Times feature
  • Trinity College, Dublin
  • Lecture in Lódz, May 2014
External links
Amazon Author Page
Journal of Beckett Studies (JOBS) Books
Google Scholar page
History of Text Technologies
Vitae
Orchid
Publications By This Author

 

William S. Burroughs

 

Beckett’s Co-authors

 

Beckett. Przewodnik
Quaderni di regia e testi riveduti — Testi brevi
Samuel Beckett os pequenos grandes textos
Bad Godots
Tennessee Williams
Quaderni di regia e testi riveduti — Finale di partita
Os grandes textos teatrais
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