Salem Press

	It would be a good choice for high-school, public, and undergraduate libraries that haven’t acquired the larger set because of space and budget considerations.
Booklist

	Of course, the eight-volume Critical Survey of Drama is the preferred choice, but this set will suffice for most students’ research needs.
School Library Journal

Notable Playwrights
Publisher's Note

Notable Playwrights contains biographical sketches and critical studies of 106 of the most important and best-known dramatists from antiquity to the present day. Publication of this set completes Salem Press's adaptation of all its Critical Survey sets in the Magill's Choice line of books, which now includes Short Story Writers (1997), Notable Poets (1998), Notable American Novelists (1999), and Notable British Novelists (2001).

The essays in Notable Playwrights originally appeared in Salem's Critical Survey of Drama, Revised Edition (2003), which combined and updated earlier editions and added entirely new essays. The 106 essays in Notable Playwrights constitute one-sixth of the profiles in Critical Survey of Drama; however, the editors of Notable Playwrights have taken special care to include the dramatists whose plays are most often studied in high school and undergraduate literature and drama courses. The set should thus cover the writers of greatest interest to students.

Coverage
Of the 106 playwrights covered in Notable Playwrights, 72 are English-language writers and 34 are foreign-language writers whose works are widely studied in translation. Thirty-three are American playwrights, and 30 are British. Among the 42 playwrights from other countries are 12 from France; 4 each from Germany and Greece; 3 each from Italy, Japan, and Spain; and 2 from Canada. The Geographical Index of Playwrights in volume 3 lists all the playwrights covered by the countries and regions from which they come and with which they are associated.

The collection of playwrights in Notable Playwrights reflects the development of drama from ancient Greek and Roman playwrights up to European, American, Asian, and African writers of the present century. Among the many movements and dramatic genres represented by playwrights in this set are postmodernism (27 playwrights), comedy (15), absurdism (14), modernism (12), and expressionism (8). The Categorized Index of Playwrights in volume 3 lists all the writers by the genres and movements with which they are most closely associated.

Organization and Structure of the Set
Essays in Notable Playwrights are arranged alphabetically by playwrights' names: From Kōbō Abe through Paul Zindel. Each volume's table of contents is followed by a complete list of the playwrights covered in the set's three volumes. In addition to the indexes already mentioned, volume 3 contains a glossary of Dramatic Terms and Movements, a Time Line listing the playwrights by their birthdates, and a general Subject Index.

Every essay is organized under the same basic subject headings. The essays open with their playwrights' full names and details of their births and deaths, followed by these sections:

Principal drama: Lists the writer's major plays through 2003, providing full titles and dates of production (pr.) and publication (pb.).

Other literary forms: Describes the writer's work in genres other than drama to help students differentiate authors known primarily as dramatists from those who are equally well known for their work in other genres.

Achievements: Discusses the writer's honors, awards, and other tangible recognitions and sums up the writer's influence and contributions to drama and literature.

Biography: Offers a condensed biographical sketch with vital information from birth up to the writer's latest activities.

Analysis: Provides an overview of the writer's development as a writer, with attention to recurrent themes and genres that lead into subsections on major plays and aspects of the writer's work as a dramatist. This section examines the plays that are most representative of the playwright's best and most significant work and offers examples of the techniques and themes found in these plays.

Other major works: Lists the playwright's principal works in nondramatic genres, such as screenplays, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.

Bibliography: Lists published secondary sources that are appropriate for students. All these bibliographies have been updated through 2003.

Contributor byline: Identifies the essay's original contributor, as well as the scholar or scholars who have updated it.

The editors of Salem Press wish, once again, to thank the 121 scholars who wrote and updated the essays used in Notable Playwrights. Their names are listed at the beginning of volume 1. We are especially grateful to Carl Rollyson, of the City University of New York's Baruch College, for serving as the project's Editor.