Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan have been honoured with the prestigious PEN Song Lyrics Award. 

The Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award is bestowed biennially by the writers' group PEN New England – with the aim of recognising excellence in the use of language in songwriting. This year's honorees were chosen by a committee that included U2's Bono, Elvis Costello and Salman Rushdie.

The awards took took place at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, USA. Speaking at the ceremony, Irish author Colum McCann paid tribute to the Tom & Kathleen’s partnership and what they’ve created: “They illuminate the landscape and then they plunge it dark again. The world as we have it is their lucky anthem. They fling it open with their lives and a few strings and a voice that was somehow scratched by heaven.”

Listen to highlights from Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan on our playlist below. 



Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan playlist