Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Shepard, Sam (Vol. 169) - Sam Shepard and Stephanie Coen (interview date September 1996)

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Sam Shepard and Stephanie Coen (interview date September 1996)

SOURCE: Shepard, Sam, and Stephanie Coen. “Things at Stake Here.” American Theatre 13, no. 7 (September 1996): 28.

[In the following interview, Shepard discusses Buried Child and his likes and dislikes among his various other works.]

[Coen]: In a 1983 interview, you called Buried Child “verbose and overblown” and “unnecessarily complicated.” Is it still something of a problem play for you?

[Shepard]: No, not any more. I think I solved it. (Laughter.) But it was due to this production being able to cast a new light on it—and I guess, too, the amount of time between when it was originally written and the current production. It gives you a different perspective.

What changed the most for you?

There were a lot of things that were hanging, particularly with the character of Vince and his lostness and...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Criticism
   1. Robert Brustein (review date 27 January 1986)
   2. Gerald Weales (review date 14 February 1986)
   3. David Wyatt (essay date spring 1992)
   4. Donald L. Carveth (essay date fall 1992)
   5. Robert B. Heilman (essay date fall 1992)
   6. Sam Shepard and Carol Rosen (interview date March 1993)
   7. Susanne Willadt (essay date March 1993)
   8. Robert Brustein (review date 2 January 1995)
   9. Robert Brustein (essay date 15-22 July 1996)
   10. Sam Shepard and Stephanie Coen (interview date September 1996)
   11. Francis King (review date 16 November 1996)
   12. Don Shewey (essay date July/August 1997)
   13. Susan Harris Smith (essay date 1998)
   14. Sam Shepard and Michael Phillips (interview date 8 November 2000)
   15. Michael Phillips (review date 17 November 2000)
   16. Katherine Duncan-Jones (review date 23 July 2001)
   17. Ann Wilson (essay date 2001)
4. Further Reading
5. Copyright