2 Contemporary Literature, 1970 to Present
Kimball King, Sam Shepard: A Casebook (New York: Garland, 1988).
An essential collection of interesting and informative essays that expand on
the many themes present in his work. The book also offers a chronology of
Shepard’s career and an interview with him.
Bonnie Marranca, ed., American Dreams: The Imagination of Sam Shepard (New
York: Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1981).
An essential collection featuring essays and miscellaneous pieces by leading
theater critics, directors, and actors on the plays and productions of Shepard,
from the beginning of his career. An essay by the author about his own work
is also included.
Jim McGhee, True Lies: The Architecture of the Fantastic in the Plays of Sam Shepard
(New York: Peter Lang, 1993).
A study of Shepard for advanced students that interprets his work within the
context of the fantastic.
Ron Mottram, Inner Landscapes: The Theatre of Sam Shepard (Columbia: Univer-
sity of Missouri Press, 1984).
One of the earliest book-length studies of Shepard’s work. This thorough
analysis focuses on the “family plays” and the playwright’s use of less realistic
aspects. The biographical information provided is useful.
Matthew Roudané, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Sam Shepard (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2002).
Essential collection of newly commissioned essays that cover Shepard’s major
plays (including Curse of the Starving Class, Buried Child, and True West) and
aspects related to his poetry, fiction, music, acting, and film work. The chronol-
ogy of Shepard’s life, biographical chapters, and May 2000 interview with the
editor are also useful.
Michael Taav, A Body across the Map: The Father-Son Plays of Sam Shepard (New
York: Peter Lang, 2000).
A detailed look at the most prevalent conflict in Shepard’s work, that between
father and son. Taav traces Shepard’s evolving view of the relationship in plays
from The Rock Garden through A Lie of the Mind, finding a movement from
pessimism to cooperation and acceptance.
Leslie A. Wade, Sam Shepard and the American Theatre (Westport, Conn.: Green-
wood Press, 1997).
Presents Shepard as a new voice that helps to define American national char-
acters while also examining the contradiction between his reputation as an out-
sider to the theater establishment and rise to prominence after being awarded
the Pulitzer Prize for Buried Child.
J. Chris Westgate, “Negotiating the American West in Sam Shepard’s Family
Plays,” Modern Drama, 48 (Winter 2005): 726–743.