Odets, Clifford
Odets, Clifford ( 1906 – 63 ),American dramatist, born in Philadelphia. He was a founder member in 1931 of the Group Theatre, which followed the naturalistic methods of the Moscow Art Theatre, and his reputation was made when it performed his short play Waiting for Lefty ( 1935 ), about a taxi-drivers’ strike. This was followed in the same year by two other dramas of social conflict, Till the Day I Die, about the German communists and the rise of the Nazis, and Awake and Sing!, portraying struggle and tragedy in a poor Jewish family in the Bronx. Later works include Clash by Night ( 1941 ), The Big Knife ( 1948 , an attack on the corruptions of Hollywood), and The Country Girl ( 1950 , first known in Britain as Winter Journey) about an alcoholic actor's marriage.
[The entire page is 141 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Oxford University Press Titles
