 The essays appear in their original language of composition (English, French, or German), as stipulated by Beckett, since the volume is intended for scholars who should be able to read several languages.Beckett himself did not value these pieces much, seeing them as "mere products of friendly obligation or economic need".The collection includes Beckett's famous essay on an early version of James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" which originally appeared in "Our Exagmination Round His Factification for Incamination of Work in Progress".