{"title":"Books by Sam Shepard","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780292761964","title":"Two Prospectors","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Shepard was arguably America’s finest working dramatist, as well as an accomplished screenwriter, actor, and director. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize, he wrote more than forty-five plays, including \u003ci\u003eTrue West\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFool for Love\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBuried Child\u003c\/i\u003e. Shepard also appeared in more than fifty films, beginning with Terrence Malick’s \u003ci\u003eDays of Heaven\u003c\/i\u003e, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in \u003ci\u003eThe Right Stuff\u003c\/i\u003e. Despite the publicity his work and life attracted, however, Shepard remained a strongly private man who said many times that he would never write a memoir. But he did write intensively about his inner life and creative work to his former father-in-law and housemate, Johnny Dark, who was Shepard’s closest friend, surrogate brother (they were nearly the same age), and even artistic muse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTwo Prospectors\u003c\/i\u003e gathers nearly forty years of correspondence and transcribed conversations between Shepard and Dark. In these gripping, sometimes gut-wrenching letters, the men open themselves to each other with amazing honesty. Shepard’s letters give us the deepest look we will ever get into his personal philosophy and creative process, while in Dark’s letters we discover insights into Shepard’s character that only an intimate friend could provide. The writers also reflect on the books and authors that stimulate their thinking, their relationships with women (including Shepard’s anguished decision to leave his wife and son-Dark’s stepdaughter and grandson-for actress Jessica Lange), personal struggles, and accumulating years. Illustrated with Dark’s candid, revealing photographs of Shepard and their mutual family across many years, as well as facsimiles of numerous letters, \u003ci\u003eTwo Prospectors\u003c\/i\u003e is a compelling portrait of a complex friendship that anchored both lives for decades, a friendship also poignantly captured in Treva Wurmfeld’s film, \u003ci\u003eShepard \u0026amp; Dark\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56232651981173,"sku":"9780292761964","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780292761964_0a1b7683-a348-47cb-b74e-ae8e3b5a4415.jpg?v=1786012386"},{"product_id":"9780571350155","title":"Motel Chronicles \u0026 Hawk Moon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003epeople here\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ehave become\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ethe people\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ethey're pretending to be.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Sam Shepard's language is sparse and crystal clear. His words appear modest, but they have huge scope.'\u003cbr\u003eWim Wenders\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis volume is the first collection of Sam Shepard's autobiographical fiction and poetry.\u003cbr\u003eIt inspired the award-winning film, \u003ci\u003eParis, Texas\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Sam Shepard is the greatest U.S. playwright of his generation. Since 1964 he has mapped out a huge mythic territory...like Whitman, his is vast and contains multitudes, his plays soar over the empty tracts of the Midwest, celebrate the space, energy and naive optimism of the new-found lands.' \u003ci\u003eTime Out\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56291794551157,"sku":"9780571350155","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571350155_b9beb8a7-4884-4ffb-958a-72d61cdfb03d.jpg?v=1786014551"},{"product_id":"9780571353699","title":"True West","description":"\u003cp\u003eAustin, working on his Hollywood screenplay, is disturbed by the arrival of his estranged brother, Lee, just returned from three months in the desert. During a brief spell of uneasy cohabitation in their absent mother's house, Lee employs himself as a door-to-door burglar before killing his brother’s film idea by pitching his own to Austin’s producer. But Lee is no writer and the brothers must strike a deal, escalating sibling rivalry to fever pitch in the blazing Californian heat.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSam Shephard’s \u003ci\u003eTrue West\u003c\/i\u003e was first performed at the Magic Theatre, San Francisco, in 1980 and has since become recognised as an American classic.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56292800102773,"sku":"9780571353699","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571353699_ea6482e2-1698-404c-9215-7c6dff1ae502.jpg?v=1786014664"},{"product_id":"9780571190744","title":"Sam Shepard Plays 2","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Shepard has been described by the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e as 'one of the most original, prolific and gifted dramatists at work today'. Here are seven of his finest plays, including \u003cb\u003eTrue West\u003c\/b\u003e and the Pulitzer Prize-winning \u003cb\u003eBuried Child\u003c\/b\u003e. Also included are \u003cb\u003eCurse of the Starving Class\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eThe Tooth of Crime\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eLa Turista\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eTongues\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eSavage\/Love\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe volume is introduced by Richard Gilman, who provides a fascinating profile of the author and places the plays in the context of contemporary American drama.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311801971061,"sku":"9780571190744","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780571190744_a002e07d-b519-4463-beea-ddd6f92be05f.jpg?v=1786013440"},{"product_id":"9780822206569","title":"A Lie of the Mind","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311969481077,"sku":"9780822206569","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780822206569_0840098f-32c9-43bf-826d-68d477ee6c60.jpg?v=1786015726"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-sam-shepard.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}