Samuel Beckett once observed that “every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness.” Beckettian scholars may feel particularly aware of this when they attempt to speak sensibly and coherently about the oeuvre whose essence is exactly silence, speechlessness and inarticulacy. Yet they share the same impulse and the same obligation to express about which the Irish writer so often wrote. Because to remain silent would be tantamount to neglect. Thus, driven by the conviction that Beckett needs to be read and discussed, the English Department of the Jagiellonian University commemorated the centenary of his birth with a conference held on 28-29 November 2006. The Beckett in Kraków Conference accompanied the Theatre Festival Dedykacje, featuring a number of Beckett's plays, panel discussion and film shows. The events attracted large audiences, testifying to the appeal of his demanding art.

The editors offer the present volume in the hope that it may, to some degree, meet the existing demand, and assist the readers in their efforts to acquire a better understanding of Beckett's work. It contains selected conference papers published in the languages in which they were originally presented and covers a variety of topics, ranging from discussions of Beckett's aesthetics and literary influences, to analyses of particular motifs and works.

Gerry Dukes’ essay “Fail again. Fail better. The Derivation of Beckett's Aesthetics” opens Part I devoted to prose works. Dukes discusses principles of Beckettian aesthetics, founded on a thesis that “to be an artist is to fail.”