The International Harold Pinter Society
MMLA CFP 2022
“Art and Politics: Pinter and the Nobel”
The 2022 MMLA convention theme, “Post-Now,” invites us to reconsider Harold Pinter’s Nobel speech, “Art, Truth and Politics.” In the address, Pinter reinforces his assessment that a “thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false,” but clearly connects such an observation to the “exploration of reality through art.” In contrast to the artist, the citizen must distinguish between what is true and what is false. Failing to do this, the citizen risks supporting or participating in authoritarianism. While the dichotomy that Pinter constructs appears obvious enough, we invite papers that discuss, complicate, or expand how Pinter describes the distinction between the aesthetic and the political, and/or whether or not his reflections bear on the so-called post-truth era. Proposals may examine how Pinter’s description of aesthetic and political truth reflect or disrupt discussions of his so-called political plays and the way that language functions within them. Papers may also examine Pinter’s political legacy and its contemporary importance. Please submit a 250 word abstract, 2 page CV, and brief biographical statement to Matthew Roberts (mjrii@illinois.edu) by April 15th.
