Tony Harrison facts for kids

Tony Harrison (born April 30, 1937) is a famous English poet, translator, and writer of plays. He was born in Beeston, Leeds, England. He studied Classics, which is the study of ancient Greek and Roman culture, at Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University.

Tony Harrison is known as one of Britain's most important verse writers. Many of his plays have been performed at the Royal National Theatre. He is famous for works that sometimes caused debate, like his poem "V". He also created new versions of old plays. These include ancient Greek tragedies like Oresteia and Lysistrata, the French play The Misanthrope by Molière, and the Middle English The Mysteries. He is also known for sharing his strong opinions, especially about events like the Iraq War. In 2015, he won the David Cohen Prize for all his amazing writing. In 2016, he received the Premio Feronia award in Rome.

Tony Harrison's Works

Tony Harrison adapted the English Medieval Mystery Plays. These plays were based on old stories from York and Wakefield. His version, called The Mysteries, was first performed in 1985 by the Royal National Theatre.

In 2012, Tony Harrison spoke to Melvyn Bragg on BBC television. He said that when he worked on the Mystery Plays, he used actors from Northern England. He felt that their voices helped bring back the power of the old verse.

The Poem "V"

One of Tony Harrison's most famous works is the long poem "V", written in 1985. This was during the miners' strike of 1984–85. The poem describes his visit to his parents' grave in Holbeck Cemetery in Beeston, Leeds. He found the cemetery covered in litter and graffiti.

The title "V" can mean many things. It could stand for victory, versus (meaning against), verse (meaning poetry), or even an insulting V sign.

When Channel 4 planned to show a filmed version of "V" in October 1987, it caused a big stir. Some newspapers and politicians were very upset. They were worried about the strong language in the poem. They thought it would be bad for young people.

A group of Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) even tried to stop the broadcast. They proposed a motion called "Television Obscenity" on October 27, 1987. They criticized Channel 4 and the Independent Broadcasting Authority. Only one MP, Norman Buchan, disagreed. He suggested that the other MPs had not read or understood the poem.

Despite the arguments, the broadcast went ahead. After a lot of news coverage, the fuss died down. One MP, Gerald Howarth, said Harrison was "Probably another bolshie poet wishing to impose his frustrations on the rest of us." Tony Harrison replied that Howarth was "Probably another idiot MP wishing to impose his intellectual limitations on the rest of us."

Awards and Prizes

Tony Harrison has won many important awards for his writing:

• 1972 Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (for The Loiners 1970)
• 1983 European Poetry Translation Prize (for his translation of Aeschylus's The Oresteia 1981)
• 1982 Whitbread Prize for Poetry (for The Gaze of the Gorgon 1992)
• 2004 Northern Rock Foundation Writer's Award
• 2007 Wilfred Owen Poetry Award
• 2009 PEN/Pinter prize, which was the first time this award was given.
• 2010 European Prize for Literature
• 2014 European Poetry Prize
• 2015 David Cohen Prize
• 2016 Premio Feronia