Greville Press

The first pamphlet is a collection of poems by Philip Larkin, selected by Harold Pinter. The second is a selection of poems by Harold Pinter, chosen by his wife, Antonia Fraser.

Poems by HAROLD PINTER chosen by Antonia Fraser FOREWORD by Antonia Fraser I was introduced to Harold's poetry shortly after we first met in January 1975. He wrote a poem called PARIS which celebrated our first jaunt together in May that year, and poetry has remained central to our shared life ever since. All the poems I have chosen - with one exception - were written in the years following our first meeting, four of them directly to me. Apart from PARIS, these are I KNOW THE PLACE, DENMARK HILL and IT IS HERE: 'for A'. (Are you the A in question, asked my mother, cautious where poetry is concerned.) The one exception to this rule, LATER, belongs to the summer of 1974, and Harold tells me that it expresses his mood at that time, so I have included it as a picture frame. Harold is fortunate, I believe, to be able to mark the turning-points in his life through poetry, not only PARIS but GHOST after the death of his first wife and DEATH written just after the registration of his father's death at Hove Town Hall. CANCER CELLS, the last poem in the book chronologically, refers to his recent illness. So poetry remains central to his life, and to ours. Recently at dinner in a local restaurant Harold suggested lightly that death might be necessary otherwise the planet would be fatally over-loaded. I responded with a sort-of-haiku written on a napkin: If there was no death In all the crowds How would I have met you? This was Harold's answer: You'd find me turning from the long bar Glasses raised, One for you, one for me Antonia Fraser 21 April 2002

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