Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston,

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse writers and many of his works have been performed at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

. He is noted for controversial works such as the poem " V", as well as his versions of dramatic works: from

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

such as the tragedies '' Oresteia'' and '' Lysistrata'', from French

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

's ''

The Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré), Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by ...

'', from

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

'' The Mysteries''. He is also noted for his outspoken views, particularly those on the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. In 2015, he was honoured with the David Cohen Prize in recognition for his body of work. In 2016, he was awarded the Premio Feronia in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Works

Adaptation of the English Medieval Mystery Plays, based on the

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and Wakefield cycles, '' The Mysteries'', were first performed in 1985 by the Royal National Theatre. Interviewed by Melvyn Bragg for

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television in 2012, Harrison said: "It was only when I did the Mystery Plays and got Northern actors doing verse, that I felt that I was reclaiming the energy of classical verse in the voices that it was created for." One of his best-known works is the long poem " V" (1985), written during the miners' strike of 1984–85, and describing a trip to see his parents' grave in Holbeck Cemetery in Beeston, Leeds, "now littered with beer cans and vandalised by obscene graffiti". The title has several possible interpretations: victory, versus, verse, insulting V sign etc. Proposals to screen a filmed version of "V" by

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in October 1987 drew howls of outrage from the tabloid press, some broadsheet journalists, and MPs, apparently concerned about the effects its "torrents of obscene language" and "streams of four-letter filth" would have on the nation's youth. Indeed, an Early Day Motion entitled "Television Obscenity" was proposed on 27 October 1987 by a group of

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Members of Parliament (MPs), who condemned Channel 4 and the Independent Broadcasting Authority. The motion was opposed only by MP Norman Buchan, who suggested that fellow members had either failed to read or failed to understand the poem. The broadcast went ahead and, after widespread press coverage, the uproar subsided. Gerald Howarth MP said that Harrison was "Probably another bolshie poet wishing to impose his frustrations on the rest of us". When told of this, Harrison retorted that Howarth was "Probably another idiot MP wishing to impose his intellectual limitations on the rest of us".

Reception

Richard Eyre calls Harrison's 1990 play, '' The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus'' "among the five most imaginative pieces of drama in the 90s". Jocelyn Herbert, famous designer of the British theatrical scene, comments that Harrison is aware of the dramatic visual impact of his ideas: "The idea of satyrs jumping out of boxes in Trackers is wonderful for the stage. Some writers just write and have little idea what it will look like, but Tony always knows exactly what he wants."

Edith Hall Edith Hall, (born 4 March 1959) is a British scholar of classics, specialising in ancient Greek literature and cultural history, and professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. She is a Fellow of the Bri ...

has written that she is convinced that Harrison's 1998 film-poem ''

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

'' is "artistic reaction to the fall of the British working class" at the end of the twentieth century, and considers it as "the most important adaptation of classical myth for a radical political purpose for years" and Harrison's "most brilliant artwork, with the possible exception of his stage play ''The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus''". Professor Roger Griffin of the Department of History at Oxford Brookes University, in his paper ''The palingenetic political community: rethinking the legitimation of totalitarian regimes in inter-war Europe'', describes Harrison's film-poem as "magnificent" and suggests that Harrison is trying to tell his audience "To avoid falling prey to the collective mirage of a new order, to stay wide awake while others succumb to the lethe of the group mind, to resist the gaze of modern Gorgons".

Bibliography

Poetry

* '' The Loiners'' (1970) * ''From the School of Eloquence and Other Poems'' (1978) * ''Continuous (50 Sonnets from the School of Eloquence and Other Poems)'' (1981) * ''A Kumquat for John Keats'' (1981) * '' V'' (1985) * '' Dramatic Verse,1973–85'' (1985) * ''The Gaze of the Gorgon'' (1992) * ''Black Daisies for the Bride'' (1993) * ''The Shadow of Hiroshima and Other Film/Poems'' (1995) * ''The Bright Lights of Sarajevo'' (1995) * ''Laureate's Block and Other Occasional Poems'' (2000) * ''Under the Clock'' (2005) * ''Selected Poems'' (2006) * ''Collected Poems'' (2007) * ''Collected Film Poetry'' (2007) * ''Kumkwat dla Johna Keatsa'', in Polish, Bohdan Zadura (trans.), Warszawa: PIW (1990) * ''Sztuka i zagłada'', in Polish, Bohdan Zadura (trans.), Legnica: Biuro Literackie (1999)

Pamphlets

* ''Earthworks'' (1964) * ''Newcastle is Peru'' (1969) * ''Bow Down'' (1977) * ''Looking Up'' (1979) * ''A Kumquat for John Keats'' (1981) * ''The Fire Gap '' (1985) * ''Anno Forty Two, Seven New Poems'' (1987) * ''Ten Sonnets from "The School of Eloquence"'' (1987) * ''A Cold Coming'' (1991) * ''A Maybe Day in Kazakhstan'' (1994) * ''Polygons'' (2017)

Film and television

* '' The Blue Bird'': lyrics for

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor ( ; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO Pictures, RKO when David O. Selzn ...

film (1976) * ''Arctic Paradise'': verse commentary for film in series '' The World About Us'', producer: Andree Molyneux for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

(1981) * '' The Oresteia'': translation for National Theatre production with music by Harrison Birtwistle, filmed for Channel Four television. (October 1983) * ''The Big H'': musical drama, producer: Andree Molyneux, for

, (December 1984) * '' The Mysteries'': adaption of medieval English mystery plays for the National Theatre, produced by Bill Bryden and Derek Bailey, filmed for Channel Four television. December 1985, January 1986) * ''Loving Memory'' four poem-films, producer Peter Symes for BBC Two ** ''Letters in Rock'': (July 1987) ** ''Mimmo Perrella Non è Piu'': (July 1987) ** ''Muffled Bells'': (July 1987) ** ''Cheating the Void'': (August 1987) * '' v.'': poem filmed for television, producer Richard Eyre for

(1987) * '' The Blasphemers' Banquet'': poem-film producer Peter Symes for

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

(1989) * '' The Gaze of the Gorgon'': poem-film for television. (1992) which examines the politics of conflict in the 20th century using the Gorgon as a metaphor. The imaginary narration of the film is done through the mouth of Jewish poet

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

. Located in

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

the film describes the connection between the Corfu Gorgon at the Artemis Temple of Corfu and Kaiser Wilhelm II * ''

'': television film, also directed by the author (1998)

Theatre and opera

* ''Aikin Mata'' with James Simmons (play), Nigeria (March 1964). An adaption of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

's '' Lysistrata''. * ''The Misanthrope'' (play), National Theatre Company (opened at the Old Vic on 20 February 1973). Adaptation of

's '' Le Misanthrope''. * ''Phaedra Britannica'' (play), National Theatre Company (opened at the Old Vic on 3 September 1975). Adaptation of Racine's '' Phèdre'' * ''Bow Down'' (play with

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

), National Theatre (4 July 1977). * '' The Bartered Bride'', translation into English of the opera by Bedrich Smetana, first seen at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

on 25 October 1978 *'' Yan Tan Tethera'' (libretto for Harrison Birtwistle's opera), (1986). * ''The Common Chorus'' (play), (1988). An adaption of

's '' Lysistrata''. * '' The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus'' (play), (1990). A hit play. * ''Square Rounds'' (play), Olivier Stage (1992). *'' The Labourers of Herakles'' (play), (1995). *''The Prince's Play'', National Theatre, London, 1996. A translation and adaptation of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's '' Le Roi s'amuse''. The play was subsequently published by Faber and Faber. * '' Fram'' (play),

(10 April 2008).

About Harrison and his poetry

* * * * *

Literary prizes

* 1972 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (for ''The Loiners'' 1970) * 1983 European Poetry Translation Prize (Aeschylus's ''The Oresteia'' 1981) * 1982 Whitbread Prize for Poetry ('' The Gaze of the Gorgon'' 1992) * 2004 Northern Rock Foundation Writer's Award * 2007 Wilfred Owen Poetry Award * 2009 PEN/Pinter prize, inaugural award. * 2010 European Prize for Literature * 2014 European Poetry Prize * 2015 David Cohen Prize *201
Premio Feronia

Reviews

* Craig, Cairns (1982), ''Giving Speech to the Silent'', which includes a review of ''Continuous: 50 Sonnets from The School of Eloquence'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), '' Cencrastus'' No. 10, Autumn 1982, pp. 43 & 44,

References

External links

*
Tony Harrison on Bloodaxe Books website
*
Tony Harrison on the Faber and Faber website

Guardian newspaper interview (March 2007)

New Statesman profile (April 1999)
* Archival material a
Leeds University Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Tony 1937 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds People educated at Leeds Grammar School People from Gosforth Writers from Tyne and Wear Writers from Leeds Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature 21st-century English writers 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English poets 21st-century British poets 21st-century English male writers English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets 20th-century English male writers