Bertolt Brecht’s Idea of Collective Creativity

Abstract

The most recent research in the theory of authorship has been used to put forward an original idea about the collective creativity of the German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956). It is stated that according to Bertolt Brecht scholars, there still does not exist a definition for the “collective creative work process” (Nadia Dimassi). At the same time, Brecht never concealed his creative principle, highlighting in his theoretical texts how important collective creative collaboration was for his work. Moreover, this specific principle is particularly important for understanding the creative phenomenon of the talented German artist. It is established that the concept of collective artistic creation manifests modernist qualities in his creativity, namely lyrics. Brecht believed that one isolated artist’s depiction of the modern world in its extraordinary complexity was insufficient and dubious. It has been established that Brecht’s concept of collective creation developed in several directions: throughout his life, his creative work involved friends and peers whose knowledge and skills he particularly valued, including his numerous beloved women. The artist was, thus, convinced that art was a collective affair. In addition, it is known that Brecht did not consider creative texts as being complete. For him, they were temporary versions in a constant state of creation. A particular moment of development came with their staging. Brecht had a particular attitude towards existing literary material – he believed he was a craftsman as far as texts were considered, so he developed his own “poetics of plagiarism”. A comparison with “Wagner’s total work of art” revealed intermedial aspects of artistic products created by Bertolt Brecht. The artistic specificity of the “Brecht machine” has been summarized, and the principles of its operation have been identified.