Author: Pinter, Harold
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Harold Pinter’s plays are lauded the world over but, until now, little has been gathered together of his other writings. Various Voices presents a wealth of material and a multiplicity of form in which to enjoy the crystal clarity of language and style which marks out Pinter as a true original. Through Various Voices the reader can trace Pinter’s development from a nascent writer exploring the boundaries of his craft to the assured maturity of his later work.
Various Voices comprises Pinter’s own selection of his prose, prose fiction, poetry and political writings. His prose choices range from the marvellously erudite ‘A Note on Shakespeare’ (1950), to a celebration of cricket and cricketers in ‘Len Hutton and the Past’ (1969); his short stories begin with the subtle dialogue of ‘Kullus’ (1949) and end with ‘Girls’ (1995); his poetry starts with ‘School Life’ (1948) and travels through the years to the powerful and moving ‘Death’ (1997); and his political writings, including many of his ‘letters to the editor’, illustrate the depth and sincerity of his long-held views on a number of human rights issues around the world. This is an essential companion to Pinter’s plays and enables the reader to fully appreciate the breadth and depth of a body of work spanning a period of fifty years.
Harold Pinter was born in East London in 1930. He lives in London and is married to Antonia Fraser. In 1995 he won the David Cohen British Literature Prize for a lifetime’s achievement in literature; in 1996 he was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for a lifetime’s achievement in theatre; and in 1997 he was named as the Sunday Times Writer of the Year. In 2002 Harold Pinter was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to literature. He is the author of numerous plays and screenplays, and has written poetry and fiction.
