Art, Truth & Politics: The Nobel Lecture

by Harold Pinter

Arts, Truth and Politics is Harold Pinter's lecture on receipt of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Genres: Literature, Nonfiction

28 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Harold Pinter was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964) and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1971), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Trial (1993) and Sleuth (2007). He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television and film productions of his own and others' works.

Reviews

[Trevor]

https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_priz...

As we are waiting to see if the world ends over the next couple of weeks, what better way to spend your last few days on earth than reading Pinter on US ‘full spectrum dominance’ and the lies and appeals to nationalism that turns entire nations to ashes.

The horrors detailed here in Pinter’s speech upon receiving the Nobel prize for literature ought to shame us all. We have been constantly lied to, yet we constantly believe these lies, hundreds of thousands die, and, if we truly belong to democracies, then we are responsible. You might think we would one day learn that bombing people hasn’t proven to be the most effective way to make the world a safer place – but for some reason we seem incapable of ever learning that lesson.

This lecture suffers from being written while Bush II was acting-king of the US. Obama promised so much before he pulled the sword out of the stone (or whatever it is the US does to anoint its short-term kings) – he promised to close the US torture site in Cuba, for instance, (yes, it is still open for business and those there still have not had a fair trial) he promised to move toward nuclear disarmament and then delivered an extra trillion dollars upgrading the US nuclear arsenal. That is, he actually made things worse.

Today, with Trump wearing the hollow crown, the US is unquestionable the greatest threat to world peace in human history, in fact, the greatest threat to our continued existence. The world is becoming increasingly terrifying and our only hope, it seems, is that other nations will capitulate and prove more sensible than the lunatics running the world’s most powerful nation. Just because North Korea backed down (and if you really think that was the obvious outcome in that case, you are infinitely more perceptive than I am) doesn’t for a minute mean Russia or China will – and Trump seems determined to play chicken with both.

If you can bring yourself to believe in a god or gods, perhaps now would be a good time to start praying to them or making sacrifices or whatever it is you need to do. Otherwise, contact your local elected official and demand No more wars.

[P.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weaponized language


Link to the recording of the Speech:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lit...


Also read:
Discours de Suède
The Rebel
Le Déclin du courage


A couple of works by Harold Pinter:
The Dumb Waiter
The Caretaker

[Verano por siempre · Rating 5 out of 5]

brutal, poetic, parodic.
Not a lie, not an only true. Just a truth Harold Pinter found in his hands in the middle of the shadows.

[Huibert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al ruim 15 jaar in de kast staan, en nu eindelijk gelezen, terwijl ik op YouTube de oorspronkelijke voordracht van Pinter beluisterde. Krachtig. Ik denk dat velen de tirade richting VS (en het VK zelf, ihb Blair) niet zagen aankomen. Dat gezegd hebbende, de woorden die hij in het begin wijdt aan zijn schrijfproces vond ik minstens zo boeiend.

[Christopher Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

My goodness does he ever not mince words here, and good for him for not using the platform to promote himself or talk about his journey, but rather to confront what he feels needs to be said, which is largely related to American imperialism. Powerful. Very, very powerful.

[Patricia Cullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took a long time to get round to reading but thoroughly enjoyed it

[Sidharth Vardhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calls out hypocrisy of American intrusions and operations in other countries.

[Hagar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enough that in this lecture Pinter has amazingly defined language as "quick sand"!!! This master of SPEAKING-SILENCE outlines many of his techniques in this specific lecture! He also states his political stance against the US. stupid policies in the Middle-East!

e-bbook edition

[جابر طاحون · Rating 2 out of 5]

لم أستمتع به إطلاقًا ، خطاب سياسي بحت ، الراجل ساب كل المسرحيات إلي كتبها و الجوايز الي خدها و رايح يستلم نوبل ، يتكلم في السياسة ، و يهاجم أمريكا و بريطانيا

[BaSila Husnain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ofcourse

[Shahab Habibi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hypocritical and arrogant when it came to politics, but a very thought-provoking speech nevertheless.