ABSTRACT
In this chapter, a roughly chronological account of Samuel Beckett’s radio art is interwoven with analyses of different motifs and devices that could be described as both absurdist and radiogenic. This is no coincidence: radio lends itself extraordinarily well to the exploration of absurdist themes, and this study highlights the extent to which Beckett’s unique take on radio as a medium of artistic expression was shaped by the philosophical preoccupations that have so often caused him to be linked to absurdism. The key thematic kernels in Beckett’s radio art discussed in this chapter (which double as radiogenic hallmarks of the absurd) are failed intersubjectivity, irremediable ambiguity, metareference, and the contemplation of finitude and meaning-making.
