December 30, 2008


Did you kiss the dead body?

The full Nobel Prize acceptance speech that Harold Pinter made in 2005. This is the speech equivalent of smelling salts.

You may need a stiff whiskey to get through it, but remember that Pinter wrote and delivered this speech in hospital, where he was receiving intensive treatment for the cancer that finally killed him a few days ago.

It is 46 minutes long. You may need to clear some space in your day to savour it.

(Click on either the windows media or realplayer icons at the bottom of the video screen to view.)

posted by Lucy Foley in government, international, literature, poetry, politics, war 

comments

2 Responses to “Did you kiss the dead body?”

  1. Sheila Ryan on December 30th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    It is Really Something. A few days ago, I did have to break away and shift to reading the transcript, but I think I’m strong enough now to look and listen.

  2. Kris on December 30th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

    I am in no way discounting the substance of his speech at the Nobel ceremony (in fact, I agree with much of it, but Pinter’s frankly shameful stance on Slobodan Milošević (since and during the Srebrenica massacre) should offer some insight on why artists are not necessarily any more reliable as commentators on international relations than certain President that I can think of. (See also: Sean Penn.)

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