By Mark Hoerrner
East London-born Harold Pinter penned the lines "there are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false." Pinter used these words he wrote in 1958 to challenge the world to look beyond the rhetoric and question the establishment. His use of words, as a poet and playwright, have now earned him recognition from the Swedish Academy, who have selected him as the Nobel Prize medallist in literature for 2005.
The author of 29 plays including "The Caretaker," "The Birthday Party" and "Betrayal," Pinter has also inked 21 screenplays. "The French Lieutenant’s Woman" is his best-known movie script to date. In selecting Pinter for this year’s award, the Swedish Academy said that Pinter had "restored theatre to its most basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue." Academy officials also praised him as one of the top three playwrights of the last 50 years.
Previously, Pinter won the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1996 for lifetime achievement in theatre. He has been nominated for Tony Awards four times, winning in 1967 as author of Best Play for his work, "The Homecoming." His other nominations were for Best Play, "The Caretaker," in 1962; Best Play, "Old Times," in 1972, and as Best Director for "The Man in the Glass Booth" in 1969. In more recent years, Pinter has spent time promoting pacifism and actively opposing the war in Iraq, going so far as to drum up public support in the United Kingdom for the ousting of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Pinter’s award is the 105th such award in Literature, having begun in 1901 with poet Sully Prudhomme. The award takes into consideration essays, speeches, short stories, plays, novels and poetry. Each year, the Swedish Academy begins accepting nominations for the award in the September prior to the announcement, and continues taking nominations through February. More than 200 names are usually submitted to the Nobel Committee, but the list is shortened to about five candidates prior to the Swedish Academy’s summer adjournment. In October, the winner is announced. The winner is invited to Stockholm for a ceremony in December during which the candidate receives the Nobel Medal, a cash award, and a personal diploma.
East London-born Harold Pinter penned the lines "there are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false." Pinter used these words he wrote in 1958 to challenge the world to look beyond the rhetoric and question the establishment. His use of words, as a poet and playwright, have now earned him recognition from the Swedish Academy, who have selected him as the Nobel Prize medallist in literature for 2005.
The author of 29 plays including "The Caretaker," "The Birthday Party" and "Betrayal," Pinter has also inked 21 screenplays. "The French Lieutenant’s Woman" is his best-known movie script to date. In selecting Pinter for this year’s award, the Swedish Academy said that Pinter had "restored theatre to its most basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue." Academy officials also praised him as one of the top three playwrights of the last 50 years.
Previously, Pinter won the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1996 for lifetime achievement in theatre. He has been nominated for Tony Awards four times, winning in 1967 as author of Best Play for his work, "The Homecoming." His other nominations were for Best Play, "The Caretaker," in 1962; Best Play, "Old Times," in 1972, and as Best Director for "The Man in the Glass Booth" in 1969. In more recent years, Pinter has spent time promoting pacifism and actively opposing the war in Iraq, going so far as to drum up public support in the United Kingdom for the ousting of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Pinter’s award is the 105th such award in Literature, having begun in 1901 with poet Sully Prudhomme. The award takes into consideration essays, speeches, short stories, plays, novels and poetry. Each year, the Swedish Academy begins accepting nominations for the award in the September prior to the announcement, and continues taking nominations through February. More than 200 names are usually submitted to the Nobel Committee, but the list is shortened to about five candidates prior to the Swedish Academy’s summer adjournment. In October, the winner is announced. The winner is invited to Stockholm for a ceremony in December during which the candidate receives the Nobel Medal, a cash award, and a personal diploma.
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