Timebends: A Life

A Penguin Classic

Far from a conventional memoir, Arthur Miller's Timebends offers an intimate look at the life and art of a man who defied boundaries and redefined American theater. As the author of iconic American dramas including Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, and An Enemy of the People, Miller offers an intimate look into his creative process and portraits of the larger-than-life characters who populated his world, including Marilyn Monroe, Elia Kazan, Orson Welles, Clark Gable, Lucky Luciano, Ernie Pyle, John Steinbeck, Sir Laurence Olivier, and John Huston. Beyond the stage, Miller delves into the cultural and political landscapes of twentieth-century America, ranging from the experience of coming of age during the Great Depression to reflections on socialism and the Soviet Union, insights into prejudice and injustice, and amateur psychoanalysis on his own life and upbringing. Timebends transcends the theater, venturing into both Miller's inner world and his political convictions as a fierce defender of the freedom of expression, from his defiance against 1950s McCarthyism to becoming the first American president of PEN International. Timebends is a portrait of a man as well as an evocative representation of an era that shaped his artistic vision.