Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde writer, dramatist, and poet, writing in both English and French. Beckett's work offers a bleak outlook on human culture and became increasingly minimalist in his later career.

As a student, assistant, and friend of James Joyce, Beckett is considered one of the last modernists; as an inspiration to many later writers, he is sometimes considered one of the first postmodernists. He is also considered one of the key writers in what Martin Esslin called "Theatre of the Absurd," and is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.

Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 for his "writing, which—in new forms for the novel and drama—in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation." Beckett was elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1984. He died in Paris of respiratory problems.