Beckett’s Children: Samuel Beckett, Susan Howe, My Son, and Me

A blend of personal memoir, father-son dialogue, and literary investigation probing into the works of writers Samuel Beckett and Susan Howe, who were rumored to be father and daughter, Beckett’s children explores themes of presence of absence and paternity reflected in literature. The result is an exploration and reflection on paternity.

Michael Coffey was born in Greenwich Village in 1954, adopted at birth and raised in Saranac, NY, near the Canadian border. Coffey’s career in publishing in New York City, most notably 26 years at Publishers Weekly, was punctuated with published writings of his own--three innovative books of poems, a popular book on Irish-American history, a baseball book, and a book of short stories. Since stepping down from PW in 2014, Coffey has pursued a life of scholarship focused on Samuel Beckett and the preeminent American poet Susan Howe. His hybrid fiction Samuel Beckett Is Closed was published in 2018 by Foxrock Books, in association with Evergreen Review and OR Books. The New York Times Book Review called it ＂a ghostly collaboration＂ and ＂a rewarding challenge＂ to the reader.