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The honor, bestowed annually by English PEN, the founding
branch of the international writers' association, is named for
the late playwright and Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter.
It is awarded to a writer who, in the words of Pinter's Nobel
acceptance speech, casts an "unflinching, unswerving" gaze upon
the world.
Born in Lincoln in 1949, Fenton is a disciple of W.H. Auden and
held the chair of Oxford Professor of Poetry from 1994-1999.
He has written several collections of poetry, opera librettos,
was an editor at the New Statesman and has also contributed as a
journalist and critic to The Guardian, The Independent and the
New York Review of Books.
One of Fenton's most acclaimed works, "The Memory of War"
(1982), is a collection of poems that draws on his time as
reporter on conflict and its aftermath in Vietnam and Cambodia
in the 1970s.
"Throughout his long and distinguished career, James Fenton has
spoken truth to power -- forcefully, fearlessly, and
beautifully," Maureen Freely, President of English PEN, said in
a statement.
"In this age of privatized art, it is increasingly rare for
writers to retain this degree of public commitment, and ...James
Fenton is one of the finest poets of his generation."
Fenton he felt greatly honored. "In particular, I am happy to be
connected in this way with Harold Pinter, whose writings I have
long admired," he said in a statement.
Fenton will receive his award on Oct. 6 at the British Library.
Former winners of the PEN Pinter Prize are: Salman Rushdie
(2014), Tom Stoppard (2013), Carol Ann Duffy (2012), David Hare
(2011), Hanif Kureishi (2010) and Tony Harrison (2009).
(Writing by Michael Roddy; Editing by John Stonestreet)
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