They said you’ve a call from the Nobel committee. I said, why?

"I heard the news of the prize at 20 to 12 this morning, only 20minutes before the official announcement. It had never occurred to methat I was a contender. They called me and said you're going to receivea call from the chairman of the Nobel committee and I think I said'why?'. The chairman said 'You've won the Nobel Prize for Literature.'I was speechless and remained so for another couple of minutes. But Iwas very moved by this even though I hadn't really taken it in. Whythey've given me this prize I don't know. "I hadn't seen the citationthen. But I suspected that they must have taken my political activitiesinto consideration since my political engagement is very much part ofmy work. It's interwoven into many of my plays. But I will find outmore when I go to Stockholm in December. I'm told I am required to makea 45-minute speech which is the longest speech I will ever have made.Of course, I intend to say whatever it is I think. I may well addressthe state of the world. I'll be interested myself to find out how I'mgoing to articulate the whole thing.

"I've been through the most extraordinary five days. I went toDublin for the festival of my work last Thursday. I had the mostwonderful weekend. Gate theatre did me proud. I was very stirred andaffected by the whole damn thing. And then I went to get my plane onMonday and it was raining. I've been through various health problems soI was walking with a stick. I put my stick out of the car and the stickslipped and I went with it and hit my head on a very hard piece ofpavement. There was blood all over the place and a trench in myforehead. I was in hospital for four hours and I had nine stitches. Onemoment I was enjoying life greatly. The next moment I thought I wasgoing to die. I recovered but it's been an extraordinary up-and-downer.And then the Nobel news came through this morning. I was told todaythat one of the Sky channels said this morning that 'Harold Pinter isdead'. Then they changed their mind and said, 'No, he's won the Nobelprize.' So I've risen from the dead.

"The invasion has already started. All my friends have beencommunicating all day long. On the other hand some journalists havebehaved appallingly. They've been ringing on the door insisting onentrance. They don't like it if you don't respond like a chimpanzee.But I'm not a chimpanzee and I don't intend ever to be a fuckingchimpanzee. Not that I've anything against chimpanzees.

"But when I think back to past winners of the Nobel prize I feel I'min remarkable company. I never thought this would happen to me - infact this morning when I picked up my Guardian I wondered idly whetherOrhan Pamuk had won the prize. He's a remarkable writer and I scannedthe pages to see if he had won, not realising they hadn't announced ityet. I don't know what the criteria are and I'm very curious to findout when I go to Stockholm.

"When I travel to Europe I find generally that my plays are given afuller rein. My plays are done here but not all that many people likethem. And, when it comes to my later plays, I often feel I'm surroundedby emptiness. Apart from Duncan Weldon who did The Birthday Party, andthe Donmar who recently did Old Times, I feel I am surrounded by a bitof a silence. But I have an ongoing relationship with the Royal Courtwith whom next year I'm going to perform Krapp's Last Tape, all thingsbeing equal.

"In health terms I'm on the mend. I'm on heavy medication for a verymysterious skin condition that is extremely rare and has chosen me outof millions to come to rest in my mouth. And it has beenextremelyunpleasant for the last three months. I also feel a bit weak because ofthe fall I had in Dublin which should have killed me, but I seem topossess a tougher fibre than I had imagined.

'When it comes to my work and life I suppose the personal and thepolitical are connected. But only up to a point. When my wife, Antonia,is pouring my cranberry juice in the morning I don't regard that as apolitical act. Nor I am thinking politically at the time, though I dohave the Guardian to my left hand and the cranberry juice to my right.But Antonia's act of passing the cranberry juice to me is an act ofmarried love. I should say that, without her, I couldn't have copedover the last few years. I'm a very lucky man in every respect.

Harold Pinter for The Guardian 14 October