For what I imagine to be a variety of reasons… perhaps because I have been a professional writer of screenplays and novels for more years than I care to admit in public or perhaps because I have served on awards committees for PEN and the Los Angeles Times, among others, that gave literary prizes… many people have emailed me asking what I think of the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Harold Pinter.
Unlike many selections by the Nobel Committee in the recent past, I think the award is eminently deserved. Whatever one may think of Mr. Pinter’s recent political opinions… and I think they are execrable… he is unquestionably one of the great playwrights of the second half of the Twentieth Century, in my estimation the most important since Samuel Beckett. The Caretaker and The Dumb Waiter by themselves assure him a place in the pantheon of modern dramatists. As a writer of English dialogue, he is non-pareil. The Nobel Committee is to be commended for their choice. Let us hope this marks a turn away from the sectarian on their part and toward recognized literary excellence.
UPDATE: To be clear, judging by past performance, I would not be surprised if the Nobel committee was influenced by Pinter’s Euro-trendy anti-Americanism. But that doesn’t diminish my tremendous admiration for the playwright’s best work, most of which was done, admittedly, decades ago.
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8 Comments
1. MeTooThen:Roger,
Years ago (maybe 20 or so) I had the pleasure of seeing “The Birthday Party” and last year I saw “The Caretaker” on Broadway.
Wow.
Really.
And yes, Mr. Pinter’s recent political ravings are excrable, worse than that actually.
Such a pity, this.
As Mr. Pinter may actually deserve the Nobel Prize for his writing, I think (as do many) that he received it at this time for his vitriol directed at the United States.
Now you may disagree with that formulation, but it is becomming increasingly hard to refute.
What a totally f*d-up world in which we live.
Sigh.
Oct 13, 2005 - 8:28 pm 2. Luther McLeod:I agree with MeTooThen. But in my naiveté ust ask, just how do we separate the personal from the political? I am rusty on the Nobel, is it for lifetime achievement or a particular period or work?
Oct 13, 2005 - 8:36 pm 3. Patrick Tyson:Eight months ago, when Arthur Miller died, I wrote:
My favorite living playwright has been Tom Stoppard since whenever it was that I first saw The Real Thing.
That being affirmed, I think Harold Pinter in 2005…
“who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression’s closed rooms”
…an excellent (and unexpected even given his politics) choice.
A few of the many winners of note…
“for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values”
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill in 1953
“for the power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an original concept of tragedy”
Eugene Gladstone O’Neill in 1936
“for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation”
William Butler Yeats in 1923
“for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times”
Albert Camus in 1957
“for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature”
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn in 1970
“for his impassioned narrative art which, with roots in a Polish-Jewish cultural tradition, brings universal human conditions to life”
Isaac Bashevis Singer in 1978
“who with uncompromising clear-sightedness voices man’s exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts”
Czeslaw Milosz in 1980
The list…
http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/index.html
Oct 13, 2005 - 10:28 pm 4. Fausta:I appreciate Roger’s point, he is unquestionably one of the great playwrights of the second half of the Twentieth Century, in my estimation the most important since Samuel Beckett; however, since Pinter himself has thrown the playwright towel, and the Nobel is awarded to living writers alone, I’d prefer that the award were given to a writer who is currently producing literature.
Oct 14, 2005 - 7:03 am 5. Esbiem:Elgin just turned to me while reading this post and wondered if “The Dumb Waiter” is the same story as the short film, starring comedian Steve Martin, that we saw at Indiana University while Martin was touring in the late 70’s.
Oct 14, 2005 - 7:31 am 6. scott:Yes,Roger,compared to some of the 2 bit(adjusted for inflation)non entities who have won in the past few years,I could go along with Pinter.But then I think of Mario Vargas Llosa,the late Robertson Davies,or even Jorge Amado,and I cringe.
Oct 14, 2005 - 7:32 am 7. Yehudit:I have been moved by every Pinter play I have seen.
I was recently informed that my favorite poet, Sharon Olds, made some extremely moonbatty gesture with regard to some poetry event at the White House she was invited to.
This prompted a flurry of sneering comments about her on an email list. Only one of the commenters had actually read any of her work.
The anti-antiwar crowd can be just as kneejerk as the antiwar crowd.
It does give me pause when someone whose art I respect becomes a raving victim of BDS; I can never look at their work quite the same way again. but the alternative is art subsumed to the political fashions of the day, and we see enough of that on the Left.
Oct 14, 2005 - 8:44 am 8. darkcoffee:Pinter is a great writer. The award was political. Naipaul’s was too — he caught the brief moment of pro-western-civilization sentiment after 9/11. Having served on a couple of committees to award them, I’ve come to suspect that most literary prizes are jokes, one way or another. Unfortunately, they influence sales, so writers often make fools of themselves over them. Discerning readers should take them with a grain of salt.
Oct 15, 2005 - 8:26 pm