Harold Pinter is a renowned English playwright and the winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005. On Oct. 21, 2015, William Baker, a senior professor from Northern Illinois University delivered a lecture on “Harold Pinter’s Poetry” at Room East Five-201, School of International Studies, which heralded an appealing and rich cultural journey. Professor Baker not only introduced Pinter’s life and writing experiences, but analyzes his poetry in particular. The lecture was hosted by Professor Gao Fen, the director of the Institute of Foreign Literature of Zhejiang University.
Professor Baker began with an introduction to Pinter’s achievements in poetry by listing his publications. Then, Prof. Baker pointed out that the unique style of Pinter’s poetry was influenced by his social and family background as well as other poets like William Butler Yeats and Graham. At last, Prof. Baker, focusing on Pinter’s poems in his early stage (1940s-1950s) and late stage (after 1990s), analyzes his representative works, including Paris and Death to clarify Pinter’s connection with poetry.
During the discussion, students and teachers compared Harold Pinter with other writers, like Ernest Hemingway and Samuel Beckett, and raised questions concerning research methods on different literary genres. Prof. Baker answered the questions in detail and gave his opinions on how to conduct literary studies.
Written by Wang Xia/Photos by Xiang Lingling
The Institute of Foreign Literature
Oct. 23, 2015
