To pass the time on a long train ride from London to Cromwell, playwright Harold Pinter and his two companions, Geoffrey Godbert and Anthony Astbury, set up a challenge: Choose 100 poems by 100 poets living poets excluded to represent the finest poetry ever written in English. The three agreed to organize this collection unconventionally, alphabetically by author rather than chronologically. The resulting anthology is challenging, eclectic, very personal, and great fun. With its surprising juxtapositions and gargantuan range of voice and style, 100 Poems by 100 Poets brings old favorites into a new light and less well-known poems out of the shadows.\""English playwright, poet, and political activist Harold Pinter was born on October 10, 1930, in London's East End. From childhood he was interested in literature and acting. He studied at both the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Central School of Speech and Drama. Pinter published his first poems in 1950. He worked as a bit-part actor in a BBC Radio program and also toured with a Shakespearean troupe. Pinter has written over 30 plays, achieving great success internationally. He has also directed several of his dramas. Pinter was married to actress Vivien Merchant from 1956 to 1980, before wedding biographer Lady Antonia Fraser. From his first marriage he has a son who is a writer and musician. Pinter has won numerous prestigious literary prizes in poetry and theatre. He was awarded the Hermann Kesten Medallion for outstanding commitment on behalf of persecuted and imprisoned writers. He has been granted honorary degrees at universities in England, Scotland, the United States, Bulgaria, Ireland, Italy, and Greece. In 2005, Pinter received the Nobel Prize for Literature. | 100 Poems By 100 Poets, Paperback | Indigo Chapters