British Library buys playwright Pinter's archive

LONDON (Reuters) - The British Library has bought the complete archive of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter, including letters from Samuel Beckett and the playwright's written exchanges with Philip Larkin.

The archive comprises more than 150 boxes of manuscripts, scrapbooks, letters, photographs, programmes and e-mails for which the library paid 1.1 million pounds ($2.3 million), it said on Tuesday.

"This is a wonderful collection that sheds new light on each stage of Harold Pinter's unparalleled career over the past 50 years," said Jamie Andrews, head of modern literary manuscripts.

Carole Souter, director of the National Heritage Memorial Fund which contributed 216,000 pounds to the purchase, added: "This ... grant is particularly special as it is the first time we have helped save works and papers of a living artist."

Pinter, renowned for the sparse dialogue and menacing silences of his plays, was the surprise winner of the Nobel literature prize in 2005. The 77-year-old is best known for dramas including "The Birthday Party" and "The Caretaker".

Among the highlights of the archive is a draft of the unpublished autobiographical memoir of his youth called "The Queen of all the Fairies" and documents all international performances of Pinter's plays.

A small temporary display, "His Own Domain: Harold Pinter, A Life in Theatre", will run at the British Library in London from Jan. 11 next year to April 13.